


All In

by solar02



Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, aot
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, M/M, eren and levi are cute, honestly rip armin, if attack on titan was a school drama anime, mikannie - Freeform, mikasa is the most closeted gay ever, ymir contain your gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-03 02:25:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 62,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10233611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solar02/pseuds/solar02
Summary: Mikasa Ackerman has it all. She’s the top of her class, has a drop dead brother ( but don’t worry he’s gay ) and is the Captain of her school’s softball team. But when a new student, Annie Leonhart transfers to her high school, Mikasa’s role as the top student is questioned...and so is her heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So this is my first Mikannie fanfic and I'm super excited because I have a lot planned for this story :)  
> Also because this ship needs more love :[  
> I'll try to update often, and as always suggestions for improvement are always welcome!
> 
> Please Enjoy!
> 
> * Author notes will be at the end

Part One :On Deck

Mikasa pulled back her raven colored hair into a tight ponytail, and leaned over the girl’s locker room sink to stare at herself in the mirror.   
Today was February 27th, which was the day Mikasa had been waiting for since what seemed like forever. The first day of the softball season was about to begin. 

“These shirts are tight this year eh?” a voice commented, startling Mikasa from her thoughts. Of course it was Ymir, who was behind her and tugging at the fabric that was hiking up in the front.   
Mikasa just shrugged, because it didn’t really bother her.   
Things like clothing and looks weren’t important after all, for they were just artificial in the end. Even though most of the school had it out for her, some even going to the extreme to call her an “ice doll”, because to them she was beautiful but cold. 

Mikasa took one last look in the mirror, her dark eyes staring back at her. It was the first day of the season, and naturally she was nervous because tryouts were also today and she was determined to make the team. She’d been good at sports all through middle school and started softball in 8th grade. Now a 3rd year, she had one goal. Make it to Varsity, and win the state championship.   
You’ve got this, she thought, trying to hold her usual stoic face. You’re Mikasa Ackerman. No one is better than you are. 

“Well get over yourself princess it’s time to go!” Ymir muttered. 

Together, the two along with at least 35 other girls they began to head towards the exit of the girls locker room into the gym. 

As they entered their coach, Coach Erwin Smith was standing and giving directions to everyone, but as much as she wanted to, it was hard for Mikasa to concentrate on what he was saying. Nerves were building up now, and she wanted nothing more than for tryouts to be done. 

“Pretty scary to think only 12 of us will make Varsity” Ymir whispered turning around to survey the girls. “See that one over there? She’s going to be competition. That’s Sasha Blouse. They say 85% of what she eats goes into pure muscle - the only reason she’d ever make it on the team. Then there’s Hange Zoë. The school is still trying to figure her out, but her story will be all over campus if she makes it on the team. And then theres…”

Mikasa was soon blurring out Ymir’s voice and trying to assess her surrounding. She’d been in the Varsity gym plenty of times before, but getting to do something in it other than watching basketball or volleyball players was completely new to her. Ymir was still talking when the coach blew his whistle and motioned for everyone to gather in. 

“Alright. Hello everyone, my name is Erwin Smith, but that’s Coach Smith to you. Today we will be running a series of tryouts for the Shiganshina Softball team. We will start by splitting you all up into groups by your year. 1st years, please follow Petra. 2nd Years follow Levi, and 3rd Years please follow Christa” 

Mikasa rolled her eyes at the mention of her older brother’s name, as she saw 2nd years trailing behind him. If students weren’t falling over themselves for her, they were most likely in love with Levi Ackerman. Mikasa smirked at the thought of the girl’s faces if they knew her brother was already taken. By a guy. 

“C-Christa?!” Ymir squeaked, and Mikasa almost snorted as the girl walked up to her and the rest of the 3rd years. Of all people Christa was the last one anyone would expect to be participating in the girl’s softball team. “You’re our trainer?”

“And what’s wrong with that Ymir?”  
“Nothing I’m just….” 

Christa made a ‘hmph’ sound and walked towards the other end of the gym, the other 3rd years following. 

“I can’t believe it” Ymir muttered shaking her head. “If she’s watching me I’ll mess up my tryout for sure” Ymir groaned and Mikasa gave her a sympathetic smile. 

“You’ll do fine” Mikasa whispered to her friend, “Just make sure to go above and beyond to impress her” 

When they made their way to the end of the gym, weights, jump ropes and stopwatches were neatly laid out. Christa first had everyone do conditioning drills, which included 30 jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups next had everyone do running drills and soon everyone was panting. 

“We all thought she was an angle” Mikasa muttered, catching her breath. “She’s a tyrant” her last comment earned her a jab at the rib from Ymir who was also quite winded as well. 

“Ok that’s it for the warm up” Christa announced, her clipboard resting neatly in her left arm. She looked at the clock. “We will now be going outside to the field to complete the rest of the tryout procedures.”

Groans escaped from the mouths of everyone in the gym, as the other trainers told them the news. 

“I can’t do it!” a 1st year burst, tears streaming down her face as her tiny knees buckled beneath her. Her face was red and sweat was plastered to her back. 

“It’s 35 degrees outside” another one wailed. “We’ll freeze!”

With the sudden realization that softball wasn’t going to be easy, Mikasa noticed a bunch of the first years make their way to the locker rooms. 

The rest of the girls followed Coach Smith outside, and Mikasa braced herself as the cold winter air hit her bare arms and thighs.   
She breathed in the familiar sights of the softball field, and the faint earthy smell that it held.   
It feels so nice to finally be back.

“Alright ladies if you want to stay warm don’t stop moving” Coach Smith bellowed. “I want everyone to split into the groups you were in before”   
Since the first years group had shrunk, Zoe and Levi merged the two groups into one so it consisted of the remaining 1st years and 2nd years.

“Alright” Christa spoke to everyone, but an occasional lingering gaze seemed to always be directed at Ymir who was staring holes into the ground. “I will be testing your endurance and agility in this test. We will be doing Two-base drills, followed by throw and release, and then looking at your individual Swing Times. You will be scored accordingly by me and Coach Smith.” Christa explained. 

Soon Mikasa was throwing herself into the drills, the adrenaline finally kicking in. Her whole body screaming by the time the tryouts were over, and her lungs burned for oxygen that she couldn’t give them immediately. The whole time during tryouts she noticed Christa taking notes, which made her a bit anxious. When it was over Christa and Coach smith thanked them for coming out, and promised that the results would be out by next week. 

“Ugh that was hell” Ymir muttered as the two walked back into the girl’s locker room together. “Well at least it’s over. I’m sure you’ll make the cut”

“Thanks”   
Mikasa was about to start changing when she noticed someone she’d never seen before. She was short, with blonde hair pulled back and a determined look on her face. Mikasa blinked, never have seen that girl before.

“Hey do you know who that is” Mikasa nudged Ymir, but by the time she looked up the girl was gone. 

 

Part 2 : Making the Cut

A week had passed since the tryouts and for the past couple of days all Mikasa could think about was how she did. How she’d beat herself up if she didn’t make the team.   
It was second hour when Levi tapped on her desk.

“Hey Mikasa. Eren told me the results are up. You might want to check the out” 

That was all she needed to hear, and soon she was rushing down to the main hallway until she stood gasping in front of the Varsity Gym’s doors. She squeezed her way through the crowd of girls who were hovering in front of the door. Her eyes scanned for her name and when she found it, it was as if her whole world had just been set on fire. 

Shiganshina Varsity Softball Team:

* Mikasa Ackerman : Pitcher / Team Captain  
Sasha Blouse : Left Fielder   
Lia Browning : Shortstop  
Sylvia Hall : Center Field   
Jennifer Jones : 2nd Base Cover  
Annie Leonhart : Catcher   
Irene Opland : Right Fielder  
Katherine Walker : 3rd Baseman  
Ymir : 1st Baseman 

Her heartbeat accelerated immensely at that moment and she held her breath, reading the list over and over again to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.   
She’d done it. She’d made it to varsity, but not only that, Team Captain!   
She exhaled, reality finally sinking in. Everything she’d been through in the past months had paid off. The summer intensives, the daily workouts, the intramural off season teams she’d joined. She was finally in varsity. 

“Excuse me” A voice interrupted her thoughts. “You’ve been standing there long enough, could I please see now?”

Mikasa turned around to see a short girl with blonde hair and dark blue eyes glaring back at her.   
The girl from last week, Mikasa thought and stepped away so the girl could take a look at the list.   
“Hmph” Mikasa could almost hear the smirk in the girl’s voice. “Catcher. Not bad, not bad at all”   
She then turned around and started walking in the other direction, leaving Mikasa left to get pushed out of the way as excited 1st and 2nd years made their ways around the JV list. Mikasa began to walk to her next class, when she realized she forgot to look at who the catcher was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Congratulations ‘Kasa!” Eren exclaimed, giving Mikasa a hefty slap on the back. “You’re pitcher AND Team Captain? That’s fucking amazing!” 

Eren leaned over and squeezed Mikasa’s arm, as he chatted her up about how she’d deserved it after all the effort she’d put into it. 

“Coach Smith was amazed at your form” Levi admitted, biting into his sandwich. “Said you were the best pitcher he’s seen in a long time. And he give out those compliments often.” 

Mikasa nodded, but she was still in shock. It was her first time since 10th grade even touching the softball field, since she couldn’t last year.   
Soon Ymir and Christa along with their other friend Armin showed up and all sat down, talking about the tryout results. 

“Honestly I can’t believe we made it on varsity” she commented. “It’s like I’m in a dream and I don’t want to wake up. I never would’ve imagined I’d be the 1st Baseman. And damn Mikasa you’re team Captain!”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. Congratulations on making the team Ymir” Mikasa said, trying to hide the redness in her cheeks. All this compliments from her friends was making her embarrassed. 

“I may or may have not put in an extra word for you two to the coach” Christa winked and Ymir just laughed and hugged the smaller girl who giggled as Ymir wrapped her arms around her. 

“Oh but there was someone else after you guys all left” Christa said suddenly, and Ymir dropped her arms. 

“Isn’t that against the rules though? Like you can’t come in late to tryouts and expect the Coach to let you re-do them” She protested her dark eyes narrowing.

“Yes well I guess he made an exception,” Christa shrugged. “The girl was apparently a really talented softball player in her past school, and Coach was persistent that she’d be a positive asset to the team. I assessed her and she was….really amazing” Christa explained, her eyes focused on her hands. “She had a lot of strength, coordination and agility, and her attention to detail was incredible. Coach was going to put her as Team Captain but he couldn’t since she’d shown up late - No offense Mikasa” She looked up nervously, and Mikasa assured her there was none taken. The gears in her head were turning though.

“Catcher” Mikasa spoke out loud, her eyes focusing on Christa’s. Strength. Coordination. Attention to detail. The position that required that the most was….”She’s the catcher isn’t she?” 

Christa nodded. “Yeah. Her tryout score was unbelievable. I think Coach said her name started with an A or something.” 

“Yeah, her name is Annie.” Levi confirmed. “I had her in my last class and the teacher introduced her. She’s in our grade.” He turned to Mikasa.“You’d better meet her. All of the teammates actually, but she’s the runner up for team Captain and if something happens to you then she’ll be your stand in.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes at the mention of ‘something’ happening to her, but in the back of her mind she made a mental note to introduce herself to this Annie girl.   
Afterall she was her catcher.

All this seriousness was interrupted with Eren’s question of if she was hot, which got everyone laughing and back into discussing the usual shit they always did; classes and quarter semester exams, normal things until Armin brought up something Mikasa dearly hated.   
Prom.

“So, I mean are we going? As friends I mean” Armin asked nervously as everyone turned to face him. 

“I’m going” Ymir wrapped her arm around Christa who squeaked in surprise, the brunette 

wearing a confident smirk on her face. “I’m sure you two lovebirds are too” she laughed as Eren and Levi’s faces turned red at the same time they said “Shut up!” 

“What about you Mikasa” Armin asked and Mikasa stiffened. The truth was of course she could go, but that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. Besides, according to the rough schedule of the softball season Coach Smith had posted, there was an away tournament the next day. Couldn’t be tired for that. 

“I’ll think about it” Mikasa lied, hoping she’d sound convincing enough for her friends to lay off her. Prom had been a topic all of her friends loved to talk about, and had been talking about since last year. She’d never gone any years before, and since they were all seniors this year this was her last chance. Truthfully she could get any guy in the whole school to go out with her, but no matter how many poor boys came to her confessing their feelings, she always rejected them. Out of honesty, and self respect.   
She didn’t want to be tied down to anyone, and she knew that she’d hate herself if she ever did get stuck with the wrong person.

“Well it’s not for another month now, so you’ll have plenty of time to get a hot guy” Ymir winked and Mikasa threw her empty chip bag at her. By the time lunch was over it was time to head back to class but Mikasa wasn’t about to go to chemistry yet though.   
She waved goodbye to her friends and headed in the opposite direction of the chemistry room. 

Mikasa climbed the stairs, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the passing students. She reached the emergency exit and looked around to make sure no one was watching, and quickly ducked behind its doors.   
“Thank god that old things been down for years” Mikasa muttered as she felt her way up the staircase. She reached the top, and opened the door, sighing as her favorite hiding spot greeted her. She stepped on top of the school roof and let the wind ruffle her short hair taking a deep breath. Looking down, she could see the softball field, and a smile crept on her lips.   
Team Captain, huh? She thought as she lay down so her face was looking towards the sun. 24 hours into the softball season, and Mikasa already knew it was going to have much in store for her.


	2. Eye Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa Ackerman has it all. She’s the top of her class, has a drop dead brother ( but don’t worry he’s gay ) and is the Captain of her school’s softball team. But when new girl Annie Leonhart transfers to her high school, Mikasa’s role as the top student is questioned...and so is her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> Look at that fast update haha it usually won't be this quick but all these ideas just came to me and I needed them to be written down before I loose motivation :D  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter ( each chapter is split into 2 parts btw )!
> 
> Thank you for reading,  
> Enjoy the Mikannie <3 
> 
>  
> 
> * Author notes will also be at the end

Part One : Eye Contact

The girl’s locker room was full of excitement as the JV and Varsity girls pulled on their shirts and laced up their cleats.  
Mikasa pulled her hair back, letting the tendrils hang loosely at her face. Next to her, Ymir was also getting ready but it was clear that she was nervous. Every girl in the locker room was.  
It was their first practice together as a team. Mikasa’s team. 

Once they were both finished getting ready, they exited making their way to the gym where they met Coach Smith who was standing with the three trainers, Zoe, Levi and Christa.  
“Alright” Coach Smith began, looking at his watch. “Firstly I want to congratulate everyone who made it on this years softball teams. Judged on the results from your tryouts I am certain this year will be a successful one. But success doesn’t come easily, and if we want to make it to state we will have to work together not separating JV and Varsity, but as a team.” he paused and everyone applauded. “We will begin with warmups in the gym, and then continue practice outside so I suggest we have no slacking ladies. Follow your trainers for instructions” 

“Follow me” Christa motioned as the girls followed her while the JV girls followed Zoe into the smaller gym. Levi tagged along with them. “We’ll start with 4 minutes of running around the gym. Keep in mind that this is varsity and walking won’t be tolerated. Let’s go!”  
Mikasa and Ymir took off along with the other girls, her breath coming in steady as they ran. Mikasa had done cross country in middle school so she was prepared for doing short runs like this.  
By the end of 4 minutes Christa had them doing jumping jacks and throw practice ( with a wiffle ball ), having the Varsity girl’s spread out with partners.  
“I haven’t done this in such a long time” Ymir groaned as she threw the ball to Mikasa, who caught it with ease. “Ok, since you’re the pitcher show me what you’ve got”  
Mikasa rolled her eyes, but shook out her arms to loosen them.  
Feet steady, eyes focused. One swift movement. 

She rolled her arm back and sent the wiffle ball towards Ymir, who caught it and smiled.  
“As expected from Mikasa” She joked, crossing her arms. “That was hella clean, damn girl” Ymir threw the ball back to Mikasa who caught it and was about to throw it again when she noticed the small blonde girl from all those days before. Annie.  
The coach was saying something to her, and she laughed, whatever he’d said to her was clearly funny. Suddenly the girl’s eyes met up with Mikasa’s and the two locked eye contact. The girl waved at Coach Smith before walking towards her. 

“Hello” she said flatly, all the enthusiasm she’d put in front of the coach gone. Her face held a new emotion as she looked at Ymir, then Mikasa. Challenging. “My name’s Annie Leonhart.”  
“I’m Ymir” Ymir said, but Annie’s attention was fixed on Mikasa.  
“Mikasa Ackerman” she said, and this time Annie raised her eyebrow.  
“As in Levi Ackerman’s sister?”  
“Yes”  
“Wow” Annie almost had a smile on her face. “I mean I guess it makes since. The famous Levi has a famous sister.”  
Mikasa was about to reply when Annie did something that literally took her ability to speak away. The smaller girl leaned on her toes, so she was up to the taller girl’s height, and then moved towards her ear. She stiffened.  
“You better watch it Ackerman” Mikasa was aware of Annie's body pushed against hers. “I'm planning on taking the role as Captain ok? I will prove to Coach Smith I'm worthy of that role, more than you”  
Annie leaned back, a smile of satisfaction on her face. Ymir stood in shock.  
“Anyways as I was saying, it was nice to meet you Mee-kasa. You too Ymir” Annie said politely with that, started walking in the opposite direction towards the other varsity girls. 

“What the hell was that” Ymir exclaimed after Annie was out of earshot. She turned to Mikasa, who still hadn't moved. She clenched her hands around the wiffle ball. “C’mon Mikasa what did she say to you? Also what was that whole secret shit about she could've said it in front of me-”

“It was nothing” Mikasa interrupted, grabbing her water bottle and taking a swig. “Annie just had a question for me about chem”  
Ymir raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything, and they continued practicing throwing until Christa called them in. 

The rest of practice was a wash, and every move Mikasa did she could see Annie did too. The dark haired girl observed her.  
Short, but strong. The agility Annie had was noteworthy, and when they went outside to practice pitching, it was clear to see Annie excelled at that too. 

Is Annie serious about replacing me? Mikasa worried. No. She can't. I've been working my ass off to get here and she won't change that. 

“Alright, now we’re going to be doing some practice as if we were really playing. I want everyone in their positions,” Coach Smith demanded. Mikasa’s blood was rushing through her veins as she made it to the pitcher’s base. Even with 9 other people on the field, all eyes would be on her to give the first move. Her eyes met Annie's who had a blank face on as she made her way to the home base. The gear made her look bigger, but behind the helmet Mikasa could see her blue eyes sparkling with challenge. Errr filled with challenge. 

“Alright, Levi up to bat” Coach Smith said and Mikasa watched as her brother was handed a bat from Christa and slowly walked up to home base. 

This is too easy, Mikasa thought as she prepped herself for her first throw of the season. Levi had seen her practice and knew her throwing style. This was of course, to Mikasa’s advantage. 

Mikasa made eye contact with Levi their eyes meeting with silent understanding. She then took a deep breath as her hands wrapped around the softball.  
One step, one throw. 

Mikasa shifted her weight to the back of her feet, and put her left foot forward just as she swung her right arm. 

It went straight to Levi. 

“Nice Ackerman!” She heard coach call but she was too focused on the fact that she'd done it. Flawless, and just where she wanted it to go.  
She could practically feel Annie's eyes on her but she ignored it.  
Ymir’s voice shook her back into reality, as she heard her friend yelling orders to the rest of the team: she was always a take charge sort of person.

The ball flew across the field ( Levi had a heavy swing ) and to the Centerfielder Sylvia, who caught the softball and threw it to Jennifer. Jennifer was a tall girl, but when the ball came at her she dropped it and Levi made it safely to second base.  
Coach clapped his hands.  
“Well played ladies” He commented. “For the first simulation of the season anyways. Ackerman”  
Mikasa looked up, only to realize coach was talking to Levi.  
“Step back to first base. Hustle!”

Levi jogged back to first base, his eyes meeting Mikasa’s in the process. Once he was back on home base Coach turned to her.  
“Alright. Now Mikasa that throw was beautiful throw. Clean, quick - just as I’d expect from you - but I have to comment on something specific that bothered me here” Coach Smith’s eyes were focused on her and it made her anxious. What was he going to tell her? What he said was something she hadn’t imagined.“Eye contact in softball is a major key to a successful team and gameplay”  
Coach turned so he was facing all the girls who had moved forward to listen to what he had to say.  
“And while textbook form and memorized movement is important -” he eyed Mikasa. “I’m going to need you to try to have eye contact with more than just whoever’s up to bat. Specifically your catcher. While pitching is important, the relationship with the catcher is critical” 

Mikasa shut her eyes and bit back the urge to groan. Of course the catcher was Annie, the one girl on the whole team that seemed to have it out for her since day one. 

“As teammates we must all be connected and in agreement with each other. Now I don’t expect you all to be best friends; most of you probably don’t even know one another. I do however expect everyone to be able to work together, and strive for success.” Coach Smith paused and everyone muttered ‘yeahs’ and ‘yes Coach’. “Alright that wraps up today’s practice. I’ll see you all on Wednesday.” 

“Also, Mikasa will be holding extra gym workouts on Tuesday morning” a voice added and the raven haired girl turned to face Annie. “It’s captain’s duty to make sure her girls are in tip top condition” she pointed out and Mikasa had the urge to scowl at the girl.  
“I know” she muttered, hoping the other girl’s couldn’t hear the annoyance in her voice. “7:30 tomorrow morning.” 

Coach Smith nodded, and dismissed everyone.  
“That could’ve gone a lot worse” Ymir commented as they made their way back to the high school. “I mean other than Jenny dropping the ball. And damn Levi is really something! Hard to believe he’s not the one in softball rather than volley ball!”  
Mikasa didn’t respond, and Ymir walked in front of her and placed a hand on the dark haired girl’s shoulder.  
“Hey.” she said seriously. “It was the first practice of the season. Coach just gave you a suggestion. We all need to improve honestly”  
Mikasa stopped and threw her arms around her friend. “Thanks Ymir” Mikasa murmured into her friend’s shoulder. “I mean it”

Ymir laughed uncomfortably, and awkwardly returned the hug. “Aww c’mon ‘Kasa don’t tell me you’re turning soft” she laughed. “And in case you didn’t know I’m taken so let’s get it over with before Christa gets jealous.”  
Mikasa chuckled and dropped her arms as she teased Ymir about her girlfriend.  
On her way home she realized if she wanted to be the best, she would have to adapt to the hurdles that were being thrown her way.  
The biggest one so far was going to be Annie Leonhardt. 

Part 2: Golden Blue 

At exactly 6:00 Mikasa’s bed stand alarm began ringing loudly.  
“Ugh it can’t be that time already” Mikasa muttered reaching for her alarm clock and hissing at the time. “Fuck….”  
She got up, got dressed and brushed her hair. When she made sure she had all of her school items, she quietly slipped out of the house hoping she didn’t wake Levi or her parents.  
The drive to school was boring, and it was another rainy day which didn’t help with Mikasa’s mood.  
When she pulled up into the high school parking lot she noticed there were only a few cars scattered about in the parking lot.  
“Only idiots would come out this early”  
Mikasa walked towards the school and weaved her way into the fitness center, where everyone was already waiting for her. Ymir was there and smiling of course, but everyone else looked just as tired as Mikasa felt.  
And then there was Annie.  
She had already started working out, and Mikasa bit her tongue as she realized she respected her for that. 

“Ok everyone” Mikasa said, easing out of her hoodie. “Today I want us to focus on doing weights and exercises for the arms. We practiced throwing and catching yesterday correct? I want us to all be ready for the next time Coach gives us any drills that require upper arm strength.”  
Everyone nodded, and began wandering off to different sections of the fitness center, and to Mikasa’s surprise, did as they were told.  
Then Mikasa noticed she had an audience.  
“Hey” Levi said, walking up to her. “Surprise?”  
“What are you doing here?”  
“Relax, Coach wanted me to go to the first couple of morning sessions to make sure everything went smoothly.”  
“Is this why they’re all doing what I say?”  
“‘Kasa these are varsity players not grade schoolers”  
Mikasa sighed as she realized she’d expected Annie to say something to her. To turn her words against her, or to criticize the way she’d instructed everyone to practice. 

Instead, she was on the treadmill running at what seemed to be a swift pace. So not exactly what Mikasa had proposed, but at least not entirely going against her either.  
Maybe this was just how she was, Mikasa thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day Mikasa’s body was sore and her upper arms ached even when she was sitting with them limply at her sides.  
Luckily her class was doing presentations on WW2 today so she could just sit back and relax since she’d already presented. Today however Mr. Kirschtein started their class off a bit differently.  
“Alright class, there’s someone I want you all to meet.” He motioned towards the door and Mikasa almost dropped her pencil. “This is Annie Leonhart. She comes all the way from the Stohess district and is from Reiss Academy. She’ll be joining us from now on so let’s all make her feel welcome”

As soon as Mr. Kirschtein finished his sentence Mikasa could feel the tension in the room. Reiss Academy was one of the top ranked schools in the country, not to mention a private school that was known for it’s high standardized test scores and achieving students.  
The students that did go to Reiss Academy were the Elite. 

No wonder Annie was jealous of her position as team Captain, Mikasa realized. Annie had probably lead a damned near perfect life with perfect grades and a perfect family, only to be dumped at Shiganshina High and on top of that not make captain on their Varsity softball team. 

Her family must be just SO disappointed, she thought sarcastically.

“Annie, why don’t you sit by Sasha by the window?” Mr. Kirschtein said interrupting Mikasa’s thoughts.  
Class began, and Mikasa had the greatest urge to say something to her.  
Something along the lines of, “look we have to work together if we want to remain on Varsity, and if you can’t handle that then you most certainly can’t hope to become team Captain.” Mikasa was planning it all in her head, when the bell rang.  
She stood up and looked for Annie but the girl had already disappeared.  
“Dang she’s quick” Mikasa cursed and began to grab her stuff when Sasha came over to her.  
“Hey, wanna walk to lunch?”  
Truthfully that was the last thing Mikasa wanted to do, but she did anyways as Sasha babbled on about the latest soda flavor that came out.  
“They say it tastes like real strawberries, which of course couldn’t happen because soda is full of artificial flavor even though soda companies like to pretend their soda isn’t and advertise it with natural AND artificial-”  
“That’s so cool Sasha you’ll have to tell me about it tomorrow!” Mikasa ran off leaving a confused Sasha standing 5 ft away from their usual table. Mikasa bolted through the lunch room doors and towards the end of the computer technology wing. She was about to turn the corner to her hidden door when someone stopped her. 

“Hey”  
Mikasa blinked twice, her brain trying to figure out why Annie Leonhardt was here, blocking her way. How did she even know this place existed?  
“Wanna practice?”  
Mikasa looked down at the smaller girl’s hand to see she had a softball mitt and ball in her hand.  
The taller girl raised an eyebrow.  
“What’s with the sudden change of heart?”  
“Oh shut up. Coach says if we want to go to practice tomorrow we have to have better eye contact.” Annie explained flatly. Of course it was forced, Mikasa thought. “And, according to him, as much as I resent you for taking MY position as team Captain, you are my pitcher. And if I’m going to get anywhere from your sub in then I’d best as well be able to work with you so…..”  
Mikasa coughed, and then smirked, and soon she was laughing.  
“I think that’s about the most you’ve ever said to me” She chuckled, and if it wasn’t her imagination, she saw Annie’s cheeks flush a bit. Or maybe she was just going crazy, for here she was, talking to the girl that wanted to take away a position she’d worked for years to get.  
“Ugh please I just want to get this over with so Coach can let me play” Annie groaned, but there was a lighter feeling to the way she talked now. Less sarcasm and more sincerity. 

Mikasa was beginning to figure out how this girl worked. She would act all tough around Coach Smith and try to impress him, when in reality she was nervous about failure and wanted to succeed just like everyone else on the Softball team . Even if she could be a bitch at times. 

“So are you gonna practice with me or not?” Annie demanded and Mikasa waved her off.  
“Yes. I’m only doing it because my valuable practice time is being risked if I don’t.”  
“Same. So we’re in agreement then? As long as we’re on the same team, we will have to work together. It’s inevitable. But we don’t have to be friends.”  
“Agreed”  
Annie stuck out her left arm, the one that she wasn’t carrying things with, and offered it to Mikasa.  
The taller girl extended her right arm, and together the two girls shook on it.  
This was the first time, Mikasa realized, they’d actually really talked to one another.  
The sunlight was shining through the glass windows surrounding the corner where they stood and at that moment Mikasa noticed Annie’s eyes weren’t dark blue like she’d originally thought they were when she first met the girl. They were still blue, but they were lighter, and reminded Mikasa of the sky she so often looked at.  
The sky that she adored more than anything in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another installment YAY! 
> 
> I tried to make Annie's character seem like less of a jerk in the end haha also do you get the whole golden blue analogy? ( Her hair is blonde and her eyes are blue, the sun is golden and the sky is blue..... ) 
> 
> Just take it as a bit of foreshadowing for the upcoming chapters ^^;  
> Comments for improvement are always welcome, and as said before I hope I get all the softball terminology correct.
> 
> With that, thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoy All In  
> ( Also this is random but the title is inspired by the kpop song All In :) It fits the whole softball theme in my opinion and the lyrics are something I'd expect Mikasa to say to Annie or vice versa * coughs * )


	3. Shooting Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa Ackerman has it all. She’s the top of her class, has a drop dead brother ( but don’t worry he’s gay ) and is the Captain of her school’s softball team. But when new girl Annie Leonhart transfers to her high school, Mikasa’s role as the top student is questioned...and so is her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> Another speedy update, it's my Spring Break so that means lots of writing!  
> I was planning on updating this chapter on Friday but I got so excited to deliver this one I decided to update it today ^^;
> 
> The story is finally starting to pick up the pace!! 
> 
> Please Enjoy reading ( also don't forget to listen to All In by Monsta X ;) 
> 
> *More notes at the end

Shooting Star

“One more time” Annie insisted, and Mikasa fought the urge to snap back at her. The two girls had been outside throwing and catching with one another for what seemed like forever. Mikasa's arm hurt from throwing the ball so much ( all of her throws were mostly caught by Annie ) and the blonde girl didn't seem like she had any intention of stopping.  
“Can we take a break?” Mikasa yelled from the pitcher’s base and to her relief Annie stood up and took off her helmet.  
“Fine. 5 min max for water and bathroom.”  
“You're a monster”  
“Nah I'm just dedicated.” 

The two girls walked over to the shaded bleachers and grabbed their water bottles. Mikasa let out a sigh of relief as the cold liquid hit her throat.  
“It's getting warm outside” Annie commented and Mikasa sighed.  
“Yeah. Global warming at its finest”  
“Aww are you some sort of environmentalist?”  
“Why not? We're going to be the ones who pay for it in the end”  
“Well I mean true but at the same time can we really go back?” Annie stood up and stretched, her back facing the field.  
“I like to believe in possibilities” Mikasa answered simply, and Annie gave her a lopsided grin.  
“So you're a glass-is-half-full sort of person huh?”  
Mikasa just shrugged and stood up and rolled her shoulders back, trying to ignore the look Annie just gave her. The hours of practice was starting to wear on her, and her arm was super sore.

“You look like you’re about to pass out” Annie commented when she didn’t reply. “Wanna call it a day?”  
“I thought you’d never say that” Mikasa groaned and Annie smirked.  
She’s making fun of you, Mikasa thought, but then Annie was reaching into her bag and pulled out a protein bar.  
She handed it to Mikasa.  
“Here. And whatever I like to practice with a good pitcher and as much as I hate to admit it, you’re not that bad.”  
Mikasa tried not to let her cheeks heat as she thanked Annie for the bar, not willing to admit how hungry and tired she really was. “Yeah, well you’re not nearly half as bad as I expected you to be either”  
“Pfft you know it”, Annie rolled her eyes and began unfastening the leg and arm pads before removing the chest plate. Once she was finished she reached for the softball mitt and grabbed her bag. “See you in History”  
“Sure thing bodybuilder” Mikasa replied as she watched Annie get up and disappear into the school. She gave Annie a head start before heading into the school and beelining to the girl’s locker room. She wanted more than anything to take off her sweaty clothes and take a long shower. She was about to put away her softball bag when she spotted Ymir, who was also putting her things in her locker. 

“Hey you” Mikasa said walking up to her friend. As she came closer she noticed Ymir’s hair was out of it’s usual place, which was swept up behind her ears. Instead it was down, and her friend looked a bit...winded. “You ok Ymir?”  
Her friend nodded and gave her a weak smile. “Yeah haha. I got a message in my locker that said Coach wanted to see me but instead it was Christa all along…”  
Mikasa waited for her friend to continue, but then she looked down at her friend’s top buttons which were undone and she decided not to ask any further. 

“Well, as long as you can make it to practice tomorrow” Mikasa said instead as she shut her locker. Ymir nodded.  
“Wouldn’t miss it Ackerman” she replied. “We’re varsity now. There’s no time for anything else”  
Mikasa toyed with the thought of asking her friend if ‘anything else’ included her supposedly secret relationship with Christa, but all of a sudden her phone began ringing interrupting her thoughts.

As she waved good bye to her friend she picked up her cell phone as she began walking towards the parking lot.  
“Hello?”  
“Hey ‘Kasa it’s Eren.”  
“Oh hey Eren, what’s up?”  
“I just wanted you to know that Levi is at my place tonight. So uhhh yeah it’s all good but DON’T tell your parents ok? Tell them Levi is in good hands”  
“Could I talk to him for a sec?”  
“NO! Sorry no haha he’s uh-”  
Mikasa rolled her eyes as she heard a familiar voice in the background.  
“Hnghh Mee-kasaa is that youuuu” she heard a voice on the other end, and Eren’s voice trying to get her older brother off of him. 

She almost smiled. Most people saw her brother as the role model student who did as his parents told him to and never did anything wrong.  
If only they knew her brother was gay, liked to party, and even talked about getting a tattoo ( just for Eren ).  
Parents would be talking about the scandalous Ackerman family for months.  
“Yeah yeah, it’s fine” Mikasa sighed into the phone. Levi could be a lot when he was wasted, something she still couldn’t understand since Eren didn’t drink. How’d he even fall for her brother in the first place? “Just take care of him ok?”

Eren of course said yes, and the two hung up leaving Mikasa back to playing with her thoughts of what to do next. It was a Friday evening and she had no one to be with. Ymir was out of the options, and although Armin was the sweetest thing on two legs, he was Eren and Levi’s friend and she didn’t want to seem desperate. She considered calling up Sasha to do something, but that girl would most likely propose something to do with ordering takeout which meant overeating.  
Something Mikasa couldn’t afford to do now that she was on varsity.  
Mikasa was about to turn down her street and head home when she had an idea. Pulling over, she got out and reached into her trunk to find her Canon EOS camera tucked neatly in the back corner. She carefully unzipped the case and pulled out the camera, relieved to find everything was still in tact. 

One of Mikasa’s favorite pass times was photography, but since she was a Senior she’d had no time recently to take any photos. Until today. Tonight was perfect.  
Grabbing the case, she hopped back in her car and began driving to Rose-Maria park, one of her favorite places in all of Shiganshina. It was a small park that had two peaks, Hill Rose and Hill Maria, that both overlooked the city.  
Since it was still early spring, Mikasa doubted there would be anyone at the park, which was just as nice.  
It took about 20 minutes when Mikasa finally reached her destination, and by that time it was 5:45. 

The Perfect time to capture the beauty of Shiganshina City before nightfall.  
Mikasa parked her car, and wrapped her coat around her before walking up the steps to the top of Rose Hill. When she reached the top, she took a deep breath.  
Rose Hill was simply beautiful at night, all the noise and lights of the city booming below while up here it was all but a soft glow. 

Other than a few dog walkers and couples, the park was mostly empty leaving Mikasa free to take pictures without people asking her questions on what she was doing. 

Mikasa grabbed her fold-up tripod and positioned it so the lens faced Maria Hill which faced west, before snapping pictures of the sun, just barely visible as it dipped below the horizon.  
Soon the sun had disappeared completely, and Mikasa’s path was only lit by the park lamp above her head. 

The silence was calming. So much had been happening in the past couple of days, and to just sit still for once felt amazing. Mikasa opened her phone, and saw the screen lit up with 7:45.  
“I should really get home” Mikasa thought outloud and her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since after school. With Annie. 

Trying to shake the image of the smaller girl talking to her, Mikasa stood up and brushed her legs from where she was sitting. She was about to leave her designated spot when she saw a flash in the sky.  
Her eyes grew big as she realized what the light was from - a shooting star.  
Mikasa’s heart raced rapidly. She’d heard of shooting stars, but had never actually seen one in real life, especially in Shiganshina City, where all stars were drained out by the bright lights.  
This was a photographer’s dream come true! 

She threw down her tripod and she even let her phone clatter onto the grass as she reached for her camera around her neck, praying she wasn’t too late.  
Her heart sank as she realized she’d missed it, the sky dark again, speckled with stars. She stared into the lens for a bit longer, hoping that she’d suddenly spot it again even though she knew it would be impossible.  
You’d be lucky to even see a shooting star in Shiganshina City, it would be practically a miracle to see two in a row.  
She was about to give up when all of a sudden the sky lit up for a second time just as Mikasa raised her camera one last time to scan the night sky. Her lens fell directly upon the fallen star, and her thumb quickly adjusted the camera so it zoomed in on the sky.  
Breath.  
Focus.  
Click.

Part 2: Miracles

Mikasa got to school early that morning, and though morning practice was cut off today, she still had the urge to practice her hitting skills.  
She’d been so excited about the picture of the shooting star she’d seen last night and still couldn’t get over the fact she’d seen two in a row! 

She didn’t even mind that her car had just pulled up to the school at 7:00 A.M, or the fact that there was a chill in the air, and the clouds had covered up the sun.  
Nothing was going to stop her from her perfect day.  
‘At least I’ll have a good hour to practice’ she thought as she swung open the doors to the gym. It was open of course, and other than a few off season soccer players, it was nearly empty. Mikasa had sweatpants on ( with shorts underneath ) and could practically hear the soccer players whistling as she tugged them off along with her Shiganshina Titans sweatshirt, leaving her in her softball shirt and shorts.  
She rolled her eyes as the soccer players continued to comment on her as she walked out of the gym and started towards the softball field. 

Goosebumps appeared on her arms, and she’d forgotten how cold it actually still was.  
‘Whatever, once you get moving you’ll be fine.’  
Mikasa was already planning her warm up before she started batting when she realized she wasn’t alone.  
She walked in front of the bleachers to see none other than Annie, who was practicing pitching. Mikasa realized the smaller girl still hadn’t realized she was there, as her back was turned to her.  
“Not decent, but not awful” Mikasa commented and a satisfied smirk rested on her face as she saw Annie jump.  
“God Ackerman you scared the shit out me” Mikasa ignored Annie’s words and walked up to the smaller girl who stared at her definitely. “Why are you here?”  
“The same reason you are. Coach called practice off today because he’s away at the boy’s softball tournament”  
“A real Captain would have her girls practice even if the Coach was gone” Annie pointed out and Mikasa groaned.  
“Look I thought about it ok? It just wouldn’t work out because I don’t…”  
“Ha! You don’t even know how to be a true captain!” Annie snickered. “What the hell was Smith thinking putting you as-”

 

Mikasa let her annoyance get to her.  
“Alright. Swing at me.”  
Annie stopped in mid sentence and glanced curiously at Mikasa.  
“You’re asking me to punch you?”  
“No. I’m asking you to throw that ball in your hand at me. To me. Hold on.” Mikasa jogged to the bleachers and grabbed her bat before walking back up to home plate. “Come on now” she yelled from across the field, her voice bouncing around the area before fading into the wind. “Give me your best pitch!”

She could practically see the shock on Annie’s face, as Mikasa squared up her shoulders in preparation for the impact.  
“You fuckin’ crazy Ackerman?” Annie yelled back. “I can’t pitch to you! You’re not wearing a helmet and we both know your head will turn to mush if you miss this.”  
Mikasa just chuckled. “Maybe I am” she reasoned, but didn’t break her position. “You know what’s also crazy? The fact that I’m here today. In varsity. Able to play. Never in a million years did I think I’d be able to come this far, and that’s why I refuse to lose to you. So yes, I am crazy. Now just throw me the ball! Or do you not know how?”

This got Annie into motion. 

Mikasa braced herself, her eyes locked with the ball as Annie stepped with her left foot and sent the ball straight towards Mikasa and a lightning speed.  
She lifted the bat behind her ear, and swung forward, everything happening so quickly she herself couldn’t even remember all the details.  
Other than the ball went soaring, high above both of their heads. It was a perfect hit.

Mikasa’s heart was beating quickly, and she dropped her bat and put her hands against her heart. She heard footsteps and soon Annie was standing above her, shock written all over her face.

“W-wow” she murmured as she eyed the ball that lie in the midfield. “How did you do that? That was nearly perfect.”  
Mikasa shook her head.  
“It’s just dedication” she whispered, remembering what Annie had said to her the other day. She stood up and looked Annie squarely in the eye, and she felt as if the blonde girl was trying not to squirm under her gaze. “Sure the Team Captain’s job is to make sure the team is prepared for tournaments, and to keep everyone psyched for the season. But Team Captain’s number one responsibility though is to be a role model for all teammates. To exemplify skill and to teach others.” 

Annie didn’t respond, but Mikasa could tell what she’d just done really made the blonde girl speechless. She was still finding it hard to believe herself.  
“You want to try it again?”  
“You just got lucky that time. Don’t test your luck” Annie responded and Mikasa sighed. It wasn’t luck of course. Training and practicing didn’t seem to be in Annie’s range of possibilities.  
“Fine then,” Mikasa grabbed Annie’s shoulders and positioned her so that the smaller girl was in front of her.  
“What the hell?” Annie protested but Mikasa refused to let the girl go.  
“Ok. Your lower body and foot positions are all correct, however your upper arms is what is causing the to be less than perfect.” She grabbed Annie’s arms, and moved them into the proper position. “Ok now swing as if you were about to hit a softball.”  
“L-lemme go” Annie protested, but Mikasa’s hand was firmly around the smaller girl’s wrist.  
“I’m not going to let you go until you do as I say” Mikasa replied, and a bit of heat crept its way into her face as she realized what she’d just said.  
“Fuck you” Annie slowly drew her arm back and swung in midair, imagining a softball flying towards her. “Happy now?” 

Mikasa frowned. “No. You’re still doing it oddly.” Mikasa commented, trying to think what it was Annie was doing to make her hitting off when she realized it.  
“You're left handed aren't you?”  
“So what if I am?” Came the challenging response and Mikasa sighed.  
“I wasn't saying that's a bad thing” Mikasa replied lightly. “I'm just commenting on that's why your hitting style is different. You're more comfortable hitting-” Mikasa felt Annie stiffen, as the taller girl gently moved her into the position that was more comfortable for the smaller girl.  
“This way right?” 

Annie’s hair fell in front of her face, and she didn't respond.  
“Hey I'm talking to y-”  
“Why are you so nice to me?” Annie whipped around so she was face to face with Mikasa. She could see the anger on the catcher’s face, but there was another emotion hidden behind the tough face Annie tried so desperately to keep up. “I'm trying to replace you. And here you are helping me! Why? Don't I piss you off? Make you jealous?”  
Mikasa thought about this for a second, before shaking her head, and willed Annie to move back, for she was very close.  
“You did piss me off” she admitted. “You still do. I was jealous because you went to Reiss Academy, have a perfect family and the world on your fingertips. But I would never want to be you, because you are full of anger and ha-”

A hand came up to her face in a blink of an eye, and before Mikasa could reflex, she felt a burning sensation on her left cheek.  
She looked up to see Annie, who's blue eyes were now filled with tears as she glared at Mikasa.  
“You don't know one single fucking thing about me Ackerman” she hissed but it was clear Mikasa had hurt her. “So stop acting like you do. Wanna know about my perfect family? My mother died when I was 4 and my father is an alcoholic who married a snobby bitch. She sent me to Reiss Academy so she wouldn't have to deal with me. The world on my fingertips? Just piss off with that, by the time I was 15 the world was crushing me. I tried to commit suicide. 5. Fucking. Times. So don't make assumptions of me and certainly don't go around thinking just because you may have worked at softball longer than I have that I'll accept being lower than you. I diserve being here and being captain a shit ton more than you.”

Annie wiped her eyes, threw the bat as far as she could before storming off, leaving Mikasa alone, at 7:58 AM, standing in the center of the softball field. 

Mikasa was frozen, so shaken by Annie’s words that she hadn't even noticed it started to drizzle, before it was downright raining. But Mikasa didn’t move.  
Instead, she put her hand to her cheek, and felt something warm hit her right hand, followed by another.  
She was crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello......
> 
> Surprised right? Annie has quite the troubled back story but I mean, it's easier to understand her more now right?  
> Also I'm sorry Annie we still love you <3
> 
> Next chapter will hopefully describe both of the main character's pasts a bit better so if this chapter went too fast don't worry there will be more to come :')  
> Also the shooting star analogy will most likely be back as well :)
> 
> This story is planned to end when the softball season ends which is around June so yeah ^^
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/Suggestions are always welcome! 
> 
> \- Solar 3/20/17


	4. Picking up the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa Ackerman has it all. She’s the top of her class, has a drop dead brother ( but don’t worry he’s gay ) and is the Captain of her school’s softball team. But when new girl Annie Leonhart transfers to her high school, Mikasa’s role as the top student is questioned...and so is her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> So here's the latest update of All In ( I promised back story info but didn't deliver xd next chapter for sure!! ) 
> 
> Sorry in advance for all the dialog, this chapter is the middle ground so it was inevitable.
> 
> As always thank you for reading All In!! 
> 
> *More notes at the end

Mikasa’s feet felt heavy as she slowly walked towards the varsity gym for morning practice. Just 24 hours ago it seemed as if she and Annie were finally getting off the ground and actually going somewhere that resembled ‘tolerance’ for each other.  
But now Mikasa had destroyed whatever they’d had, which even that wasn’t much.  
The brunette was absolutely dreading practice. Facing Annie.

After she’d finished changing, she slowly opened the door into the gym and her dark eyes darted from side to side, trying to spot the smaller girl, but she was nowhere to be found.  
“There you are” a voice shook her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Ymir. “How are ya kid?”  
“Fine” Mikasa replied, but her friend knew she was acting distant.  
“You sure?”  
“Of course I am” Mikasa said a bit edgier than she meant to. “Have you seen Annie?”  
“You mean that catcher bitch?” Ymir raised an eyebrow and Mikasa sighed. “Nope. If she were in the lockers, she should’ve already come out by now. Even an elitist like her should know when to be on time to something.”  
“She’s probably just stuck in traffic” Mikasa snapped, hating how she was standing up for the girl, and how she was being rude to her best friend. “I’m sorry Ymir, a lot has happened in the last 24 hours and I’m a bit on edge”  
“I’d say.” Ymir sighed and patted the brunette on the head just as Coach Smith called them in together. 

“Good morning Ladies” He said as all the girls crowded around him. “Today we’re going to start off with some team bonding lead by Levi, Christa, and Zoe. JV and Varsity girls you know what to do”  
Mikasa followed Ymir to where Christa was, and she could almost feel her friend’s anxiety next to her.  
“Alright everyone” Christa began, grabbing her clipboard. “We’re going to be doing some team bonding today, which if you didn’t know, in Coach Smith’s language, means strengthening and conditioning”  
Mikasa bit her cheek to keep from groaning, but Ymir did openly.  
“Ugh c’mon Christa can’t we do something a bit easier? My whole body fucking hurts”  
“Uh-uh Ymir, remember the promise we made?”  
This shut the taller girl up as Mikasa watched her friend flush and remain silent, leaving Christa to smile. 

Christa led them all into the fitness room, where a series of workouts were given to the girls ( Christa’s was more organized than Mikasa’s had been ).  
Mikasa grunted as she felt her arm muscles burn, but there was a huge difference when she reflexed, and she smiled at the results.  
“Wanna go out for a protein shake after this?” Ymir asked as they set their dumbbells down and moved to the mats.  
“Sure” Mikasa replied, thankful that Ymir had seemed to forgiven her for her outburst. “Where will we go?”  
“I was thinking McDonald's. Just think, 2 tall chocolate shakes with protein powder mixed in - we’ll be hella ripped by tomorrow!” Mikasa laughed at Ymir’s explanation, but was thankful she had her best friend. Someone who would always be there for her, even though she could get moody sometimes. 

“Ackerman” A voice rang out to her, and instantly Mikasa’s blood chilled as she turned to see Coach Smith beckoning her towards the end of the fitness room. Mikasa tried to ignore the stares she received from the other varsity girls as she stood up from her mat and walked over to where he was standing.  
“Yes Coach Smith?”  
“I need to ask you something.” He began, and Mikasa had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Do you know where Annie Leonhart is?”  
Mikasa gulped. She wasn’t here at all. “No I don’t”  
Coach Smith frowned and Mikasa stared at her shoes, trying to think of what happened to the other girl and why on earth she wasn’t at morning practice.  
“Well tomorrow morning we were going to have pitcher and catcher drills, so I was hoping you’d be able to get a hold of her so we know what’s up and how long she’ll be gone” Coach Smith frowned. “If I give you her number do you think you could get a hold of her? This is important Mikasa, we have our first tournament next Thursday. No catcher means we’d have to get a stand in but we both know Leonhart’s capabilities and how we’d suffer greatly from her absence.”  
MIkasa nodded slowly and watched as Coach Smith pulled out his phone.  
He started reading off Annie’s phone number, and Mikasa quickly made a new contact.  
(818) 6050-6601.  
“Counting on you Ackerman” Coach Smith replied, as Mikasa slid her phone into her bag, letting his words resonate in her head. 

She had to get Annie to show up to practice tomorrow.

After another 30 min, the girls were dismissed to change and Mikasa and Ymir quickly dashed into the girl’s locker room.  
“McDonald’s still good with you?” Ymir asked as she threw on her sweatpants and Mikasa nodded as they both shut their lockers.  
“Shit it’s 8:15”  
“It’s fine, I can miss first hour if you can”  
“Pfft is that goody goody ‘Kasa suggesting skipping?”  
Mikasa rolled her eyes as they made their way to the front doors.  
“School starts at 8:25 and by the time we get there we’ll only be 45 minutes late” She reasoned and Ymir laughed.  
“I was just joking haha, but if you’re ok with it than so am I”

By the time the girls got in Ymir’s car and to McDonald’s it was already 8:30.  
When they walked in, Mikasa found a table while Ymir went up to the front to place their order.  
The brunette watched as her friend ordered the two milkshakes and flirted with the cashier making the poor girl flush uncontrollably.  
Ymir came back with a number, grinning stupidly.  
“Jeez Ymir can I go anywhere without you trying to pick up girls?”  
“Chill chill ‘Kasa, she gave me a discount” Ymir laughed. “Oh also here”  
She threw across the table a protein packet, and Mikasa inspected it. 23g of protein per serving!  
“Besides I already have Christa” Ymir explained and Mikasa could see the admiration her friend held for the smaller girl. She wondered if she’d ever have someone in her life the way Ymir had Christa.  
Soon the drinks came, and the two girls sprinkled the powder into their shakes, and drank up. 

After the girls finished it was 9:10 when they left McDonald’s and Ymir kept complaining about how over stuffed she was.  
“That’s what you get for drinking that tall chocolate shake” Mikasa pointed out and Ymir just rolled her eyes.  
“You made me finish yours. Ugh I’m gonna be full ‘till tomorow” her friend moaned as the two girls piled into Ymir’s car. “Hey ‘Kasa I don’t really feel like going back to school. Wanna skip?” her friend said suddenly.

Mikasa knew it was coming. She’d never missed a day this year, and was the top of her class. What would one day matter?  
“Fine” Mikasa confirmed and Ymir just stared at her, but soon they were driving to her friend’s house, blasting Twenty One Pilots all the way there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two girls were sitting on Ymir’s floor playing on their phones and chatting when Mikasa remembered Coach Smith’s words.  
He was counting on her.  
“Hey Ymir wait a sec I gotta text someone” Mikasa said suddenly, interrupting their talk about the upcoming tournament.  
“Who is it? A guy?” her friend laughed.  
“No. Annie.”  
“Pfft if she knows who it’s from she’ll probably block you. You’d be better off calling”  
“I don’t want to talk to her!”  
“Yeah, well I don’t want us to have a shitty play because she decides it’s suddenly not convenient for her!”  
Mikasa put her head in her hands, hating herself for provoking the smaller girl. If she’d just quit it with her ego, maybe Annie would still be here. It was her fault, and now her job to pick up the broken pieces, before it hurt anyone else.  
“Fine,” she said reluctantly, praying that the talk would just be quick and easy. The last thing she needed was to fuck this up with Annie even more than she already had.  
Mikasa felt her friend watch her dial the number, and she put it on speaker so they could both hear. 

After about the 4th ring someone finally picked up.  
“Hello, this is Annie” a voice from the other end answered. Mikasa breathed in a sigh of relief, for god’s sake at least the girl was talking.  
“Hey, Annie this is uh, Mikasa” She heard a ‘tch’ sound and she knew her time with the blonde would be cut off any minute. “Don’t hang up! Please! Annie where were you this morning Coach Smith says you need to be there tomorrow morning the team needs -”  
Click.

“She fuckin’ hung up?” Ymir raged, and reached to dial the phone again but Mikasa shut it off before her friend could call Annie again.  
“This is my fault” she whispered, defeatedly. “Annie won’t come to practice because of me. And now the team is going to fail because of it. Goddamnit why am I’m such a shitty Captain?”  
“C’mon now Mikasa,” Ymir wrapped her strong arms around her, and the brunette leaned her weight against her friend’s chest. “We both know you’re none of that sort, Annie is just a stuck up asshole who needs to be set in her place. Nothing's your fault. I’ll tell Coach that Annie refused to talk with us and hopefully he’ll kick her off the team.”  
“Don’t” Mikasa said quietly, her voice still full of despair. “Please I….we can’t have Annie off the team. Tell Coach to give me until Monday. I’ll figure something out.”  
“You sure? It sounds to me like she’s hella pissed.”  
“Positive.”  
Ymir chuckled, and kissed the top of Mikasa’s head. “That’s what makes you the team Captain ‘Kasa. I’d have given up on that girl by now, but you. You’re still gonna try to make this work huh? I can respect that. And so can Coach. That’s why you shouldn't doubt yourself.”  
Mikasa nodded, and thanked Ymir, but her head was trying to dream up ways of how she could make this work.

It was almost 1:00 when Mikasa explained how she had to go and try to make it back to 3rd period. Her friend offered her a ride but Mikasa decided to walk, to clear her head.  
By the time she made it there she just caught chem and was on her way to english when she spotted Coach Smith in the halls.  
“Hey, I called Annie” Mikasa prayed that he wouldn’t be mad at her.  
“And?”  
“She didn’t answer” her heart sank as she saw him sigh. “I’ll try again tonight-”  
“Mikasa” Coach interrupted her. “We’ll just see if she comes tomorrow. If not I’m afraid she will be trouble”  
“Please don’t kick her off the team!” Mikasa blurted and Coach Smith just laughed.  
“Kick her off? Who said anything about that happening?” He chuckled, but then his face fell. “She’d just receive a penalty that would prevent her from playing in next week's tournament. I’m just worried because she’s the catcher, and I don’t know of any good stand ins that would match her level…”  
“I promise I’ll get her to come back. It may not be tomorrow but...just give me until Monday. I promise”  
Coach Smith sighed, “I love your enthusiasm Ackerman but Leonhart can be difficult”  
“I know I know. Just don’t lose faith in her ok?”  
Coach patted Mikasa on the arm. “If she’s not back to afternoon practice on Monday, we’ll call a stand in.”  
“Got it.” Mikasa watched as Coach started walking towards the gym, and started wracking her brain for ways to get to Annie.  
So far she had none.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was Friday, and Mikasa crossed her fingers for Annie to show up, but the blonde was nowhere to be found.  
‘Fuck’ Mikasa thought, as she walked into the girl’s locker room after practice. Ymir was at Debate and had to leave early leaving Mikasa to walk to her first class alone when she got an idea.  
She pushed her way through the hundreds of students walking by her, and into the PE department office.  
“Coach Smith” he was sitting at the desk on his laptop when he looked up. “Do you think you could give me Annie’s address?”  
“That’s confidential information Ackerman”  
“Please. Annie isn’t going to answer her phone, so the only way I can think of trying to talk to her is face to face. We both know we need her” Mikasa quickly explained, and Coach sighed.  
“I can’t do this.” He muttered, but Mikasa could see him starting to give in. “I’ll tell you once, but this is the only exception I’ll make for you ever again Ackerman”  
Mikasa nodded silently, as he looked up something on the computer and wrote down the address.  
“Thank you” Mikasa said, slipping the paper into her pocket. “She’ll be at practice on Monday!” she slipped out the door and into the sea of students before Coach Smith could reply.  
Mikasa walked back down towards the chemistry rooms to the back door, praying no one would see her. The bell had just rung as she made it towards the exit.  
Mikasa carefully opened the door, which read ‘No Re-Entry’ and slipped out holding Annie’s address in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm what's Mikasa's plan I wonder :') 
> 
> Also dang Annie, you're turning Mikasa into a delinquent without even being by her, she's skipping school because of you!!!  
> In all seriousness though sorry for the lack of Annie I just couldn't find a way to bring her in this chapter :')  
> There will be plenty more to come ( also get ready for some MikAnnie moments to FINALLY surface!! ) 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/Suggestions are always welcome  
> (Also s/o to ToP fans <3 )


	5. Possibilites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa Ackerman has it all. She’s the top of her class, has a drop dead brother ( but don’t worry he’s gay ) and is the Captain of her school’s softball team. But when a new student, Annie Leonhart transfers to her high school, Mikasa’s role as the top student is questioned...and so is her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is probably the longest of the chapters so far but it's definitely worth it. Lots of explaining and angst had to be entered sometime so here it is.  
> Also the first draft of this chapter was absolutely terrible, so I re-wrote it completely (quality over quantity ) and am very pleased with how it turned out!
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Thank you for reading ! 
> 
> * More notes at the end

Everything in Mikasa’s right mind of thinking was screaming at her as she started her car ignition and began pulling out of the SHS parking lot.  
This was her second day in a week she was ‘skipping’ school, but she tried to justify it for the team.  
Her team.  
She’d been so caught up with her master plan ( operation get Annie back on the field by Monday ), she hadn’t even looked at the catcher’s address until now.

“19191 Saffron Dr, Morgan Hill” Mikasa murmured, her eyes almost popping out of her head as she realized what that meant. Saffron Drive was one of those privately owned places, where every house was practically a mansion. Only rich ass people lived there of course.

It was about a 20 minute drive, so Mikasa had time to plan out what she was going to say to the blonde without anything of the following happening:  
Getting slapped  
Getting ignored  
Leaving empty handed  
After a while of contemplating each possible outcome, she decided that she couldn’t let any of them happen. Because as much as she hated to admit it, Annie was an extraordinary catcher and the team would take a big hit without her. 

After the long 20 minutes in the car, she finally rounded a corner to what read Saffron Drive only to have her mind literally blown. In front of her was a large stretch of land, a golf course, and houses widely spread apart from each other, and although Mikasa was a far distance away from each home she could tell they weren't your average town house. 

As she drove up closer, she realized there were big gates that blocked her way, reading ‘Saffron Community Private Property’ and Mikasa’s heart sank.  
Of course, she was going to have to somehow gain access into the community if she wanted to reach Annie’s house.  
How was a whole other issue.  
She carefully backed up her car, and prayed that someone would come along, and the gates would hold long enough for her to sneak in without getting permission.  
‘Fuck’ Mikasa thought, as she played with the consequences this could lead to if she got in without permission. Police involvement. Towing. Her parents knowing she in fact wasn’t in school like they thought she was.  
‘You’re doing this for the team’ Mikasa repeated over and over, but she still couldn’t help but feel anxious. She was getting discouraged when all of a sudden there was a black vehicle that pulled up to the entrance, and Mikasa let out a sigh of relief as the person reached out and typed in a password only to have the massive gates swing open. Mikasa restarted her car.  
It was now or never.  
She almost cut the curb trying to speed beyond the gates without them closing.  
6...5...4 Mikasa pulled around the corner.  
3….2….1 her car pulled in safely behind the black vehicle.  
She was in! 

Part of her wanted to drive around, just to see the monstrosity of some of the houses, but she willed herself to focus. She came here for a reason, and a very important one at that!  
Carefully checking the address every now and then, Mikasa began driving towards where she thought Annie’s house was. The numbers were getting closer, until she finally pulled up to the house that matched the address Coach had given her.  
Firstly, the house was enormous and was breathtaking. Mikasa hadn’t realized it, but as the address numbers grew higher, so did the altitude of the houses, and the house in front of her was nestled above many of the other houses. Since in Annie’s address read Morgan Hill, she figured this had to be it. 

She turned around, to see the view of all the houses in the Saffron Community, and longed to take a photo, to capture the beauty. The way the houses were architecturally pleasing to the eye, and the view from the top of the peak had Mikasa breathless.  
But instead, she held in her desire to take out her camera and pulled on the side of the road, afraid if she drove on the Leonhart’s property she’d be sued.

The house was two stories, with a three car garage and an oversized doorway with marble pillars on either side. Mikasa couldn’t see the back of the house, but she did see a gazebo peeking it’s way out from behind the enormous house.  
‘So this is the kind of place Annie comes from huh’ Mikasa thought as she stood anxiously fiddling with the slip of paper. It was now or never.  
She took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

A melodic sound could be heard even from outside the house, and Mikasa prayed that if Annie was there, she’d be willing to at least talk, since she’d came all the way here.  
A minute passed.  
Then two.  
Hesitantly, Mikasa was about to try again but all of a sudden the door opened.  
“Who is it -” a voice muttered, but when Annie looked up her eyes grew wide. “jesus fucking christ!” the blonde girl tried to slam the door but Mikasa acted quicker and put her foot in the way before Annie could close it.  
“Don’t you dare shut the door on me Annie” she growled.  
“I don’t want to talk to you”  
“Yeah I’ve noticed, now just-”  
“Go away!”  
“Annie?”

A voice rang from behind the door, and Mikasa could see Annie physically freeze. The brunette couldn’t see since she was blocking the door but she guessed that whoever this person was, it was someone the smaller girl didn’t like.  
“Shut the door, you’ll let the cold air into the house! And who are you talking to?”  
Everything happened in a blur, but suddenly Annie was pushed from the doorway and Mikasa was faced with a woman that looked absolutely nothing like Annie.  
She must have been in her mid thirties, with auburn hair and striking green eyes, wearing what looked to be the most expensive yoga outfit Mikasa had ever seen as she stood there awkwardly, regretting wearing her black jeans and favorite flannel shirt.  
“Who are you? Are you one of Annie's friends?” the woman demanded snapping Mikasa out of her thoughts. Mikasa heard Annie mutter, ‘as if’, but decided to ignore her. 

“My name is Mikasa Ackerman. I have, uh, come to talk to Annie on the behalf of the Shiganshina Girl’s Varsity Softball team” Mikasa could practically see Annie’s eye roll from where she was standing, and when the woman continued to stare at her with disdain she added, “And her teachers of course. Annie’s absence from practice - and school - has been a worry to our Coach and uh teachers -”  
“Is that why you’ve been home so much recently?” the woman turned to face Annie who looked about ready to die. Turning back to Mikasa, she said, “Alright then. If you can somehow convince her to go back to school than be my guest”

Mikasa did a double take. This woman didn’t even know Annie was supposed to be in school? And even more oddly, was this woman, most likely Annie’s stepmother, inviting her into their billion dollar home? She didn’t believe it, that is until she was guided into the house and the stained glass door was shut behind her.  
The entrance to the house was beautiful, everything was marble, the floors, pillars, and on the glass table that was next to her was a vase full of fresh white roses. 

Straight ahead of them was a winding staircase that lead to the upstairs, and the place where they were standing lead off into different rooms. Mikasa tried not to let her eyes wander, but she noticed a white piano to her left peeking out from what looked like an over expensive living room.

Although the house was gorgeous, Mikasa couldn’t help but feel as if something were missing. Sure, it was far nicer than she could’ve ever hoped to live in, but picturing a smaller version of Annie growing up here made her...sad. 

All the memories from her childhood were of her and Levi poking around outside, or playing in the playroom, or getting into trouble and her parents yelling at them. But despite the imperfect childhood she had, it was always full of memories. Warm, happy, sometimes sad, but what her family had was very different from what Annie’s seemed to have.  
Here, in this big, expensive house, made of stone cold marble and colorless white.  
It felt unloved. Empty.

Mikasa didn’t know what to say as the woman started walking away from them and turning the corner into the next room.  
“Annie dear, please make sure not to make a racket. I have Joylene coming here in a few minutes. If you two get hungry there are some organic - vegan gluten free popsicles in the freezer”  
“She won’t be here long” Annie muttered as the woman disappeared behind the wall, seeming to have not heard Annie. Then suddenly the smaller girl grabbed Mikasa by the hand and marched her up the staircase. She didn’t protest, afraid of Annie snapping at her. Mikasa didn’t even have time to admire all the rooms as the smaller girl pulled her along the hallway, and Mikasa counted six doors until at the last possible door, Annie stopped walking. 

The blonde opened the door, and Mikasa stepped in just as Annie slammed the door, and whipped around.  
“What the fuck are you doing?” she demanded, and Mikasa took a deep breath. “You can’t just come to my house you know - who gave you the address? Do you know what a disaster that could’ve been? You could get in trouble for soliciting here you know”  
“Look” Mikasa countered. “I think I'm the one who should be asking questions here. Where have you been? Skipping two practices in a row the week before our first tournament? Coach Smith will get you KICKED OFF THE TEAM Annie. Is that what you want? Just because of me?” Her last sentence Mikasa regretted and kicked herself for being so harsh. There she went again with her stupid attitude. 

Annie sunk down on her floor and groaned.  
“Is this why you’re here?” she muttered, and when Mikasa just looked at her expectantly, Annie sighed. “I didn’t want to see you. Talk to you.”  
She looked up and Mikasa held her breath. This was it. Annie was going to tell her to get the fuck off her property and leave her alone.  
She braced herself for the blow.

What Annie said instead caught Mikasa completely off guard.  
“Tell Coach Smith he can take me off the team. I don’t deserve it anyways.”  
Mikasa’s heart stopped. “Excuse me?”  
“You heard me” Annie stood up and glared into Mikasa’s eyes. The same challenging blue eyes Mikasa had been greeted with when she first met the girl bore into her. “Tell Coach Smith to take me off the team.”  
Although it sounded like more of a threat than a statement, Mikasa was absolutely speechless. “What happened to your drive to obliterate my existence as Captain?” she said incredulously. “That was only a few days ago and now you’ve-”  
“Come home as number one and successful, or don’t come home at all” Annie muttered darkly. “It’s Eva’s favorite quote.”  
The gears in Mikasa’s head started to turn. “Eva?”  
“That whore that talked to you a few minutes ago” Annie spat and Mikasa swallowed, but didn’t say anything. “Look I’m sorry for the language. She’s just...UGH. I hate her so much.” Annie sunk down on the floor again, leaving Mikasa unsure weather to try to comfort the girl or to just let her cool down.  
“Is that your...stepmother?” she asked hesitantly.  
“Yeah. She’s the woman that ‘swept my father off his feet’ when my real mother died” Annie bit her lip. “Eva Ivanova.” The way Annie said it was as if the name itself was a poison she didn’t want in her mouth. The amount of dislike in Annie's voice made Mikasa cringe. 

“Annie I’m...I’m sorry” Mikasa said lamely. “I had-”  
“No idea” Annie finished, playing with a tendril of hair that had fallen from its place. “It’s fine. She never loved me anyways.” the smaller girl looked as if she was trying to burn holes through her wall as she continued. “She always hated me for being the apple of my father’s eye. Never accepted me for dating girls. Hated the way that I liked to play sports rather than play piano or do ballet or some girly shit”

“I'm sure she doesn't hate you” Mikasa replied but Annie gave her a look. “Ok. It sounds like she does. Is your dad ok with it?”

Annie just chuckled, but it was weak and Mikasa could see how much of a challenge this was for the smaller girl. “He’s either too drunk to think straight or too hungover to express his feelings. Even if he wasn’t, it’s not like he’d do anything about it. Look at this house. My father became a stranger to me ever since mom died. I always joke that the only reason he’s still with Eva is to live in a large house so none of us have to speak to each other.” 

Listening to Annie, Mikasa had a lump in her throat, and this time it wasn’t something she could swallow. She felt nauseous as she let everything that Annie had just told her sink in.  
Mikasa felt herself lower into the ground until she was in the same position as Annie, and let her hair fall over her eyes.  
“Woah hey are you - are you crying?” Mikasa felt stupid for it, but realization just came crashing down on her. She’d made assumptions of this girl’s life when clearly, she really did know nothing about her. And after hearing just half of what Annie’s real life was, behind the money and the tough girl act she’d try so hard to keep up, Mikasa realized that even the people who seemingly had it all together could be silently breaking inside. “Ackerman?”

“I’m sorry” she sniffled, hating how pathetic she was. Here, in a stranger's house she was weeping for someone she hardly knew, and was wishing she could take everything she’d said the other day back. “I just...I feel awful for assuming you were stuck up. And envying your life, and feeling jealous of your skills. If I’d known I’d would’ve treated you differently.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry Annie.”

She buried her head between her legs, but felt a body slide next to her, not in a way that resembled any affection, but one that made her tears stop for some reason.  
“That would’ve only made me madder” Annie admitted. “This is why I didn’t want to tell anyone about me. I don’t want to be looked down upon. I don’t want people’s pity. I just….” her voice trailed off. “I want out.”

Out. Surely Annie wouldn’t let Eva’s dumbass quote stop her from being part of the softball team?  
“But what about the team Annie? Do you really want to give up your dream just because of one stupid person?”  
“She certainly wants me to” the smaller girl said. “And I’m tired of having to make up excuses for practices. Even though I have perfect grades, she just can’t get over the fact I’m doing ‘baseball’. Says it’s for boys.”  
“That’s bullshit!”  
“Now you’re talking my language” Annie chuckled, but quickly turned serious. She scooted over so she was now facing Mikasa straightforward, her unblinking eyes meeting with hers. 

Mikasa didn’t have any time to react as suddenly she felt Annie’s small, cold hands reach up to gently grab her face. Her heart was beating rapidly, but her body refused to move as her brain tried to register what was happening.

“Besides”, Annie continued. “I have this feeling even if I had come to tryouts on time, and performed my best I still would’ve lost to you.”  
Time seemed to slow, and Mikasa still didn’t move even after Annie dropped her hands and stood up. Her back now turned to the brunette, Annie stretched her arms high over her head.  
“Hnngh that was deep, ok I’m done talking. I’ve kept this all inside for such a long time...it feels nice to have finally told someone.” Annie turned around and offered a hand to Mikasa, who took it as she tried to steady herself. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to blab about my life story AND make you cry. You should go home.”

Mikasa nodded, feeling weak even with the smaller girl holding her hand.  
“How are you so strong?” she asked, and Annie looked at her in surprise.  
“I’ve put up with this shit for as long as I can remember Ackerman. After a while you build up a barrier.”  
“You shouldn’t have to” she whispered, but she knew Annie hadn’t heard her. “I’m not even half as strong as you.”  
Annie just rolled her eyes.  
“You’re the top of the class and the Softball team Captain. Some people clearly believe in you.”  
Mikasa pondered this thought. That’s because she’d had a solid life so far. Nothing compared to what the girl in front of her had to deal with.  
“If I give you my position as Captain will you come back?” Mikasa said suddenly, surprising herself not only with her words but also with the sincerity behind what she’d said. Everything she’d worked hard for, she was willing to give up to this girl. Because she wholeheartedly believed now that Annie deserved it more that she did. “I’m serious Annie. I don’t have the pressure to be the best, and my family doesn’t care if I’m not Captain. Please Annie. We’re all in this together, as a team. You can’t leave now.”

Silence filled the room, and Mikasa feared that Annie would wave her off, that her mind was already made up. The thought of Annie leaving the team made her sad, but also angry. If Annie was going to quit just because her stepmother forced her to, than she would have a new reason to be furious at the woman. No one should have the control over someone’s decisions like that.

“Drop it Ackerman” Annie said simply, as she tugged on her hair tie so her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders. “If I’m going to become the best than I have work my way up to the top.”

The words stung, and Mikasa tried not to get discouraged. That wasn’t a complete no right? It wasn’t the straightforward ‘yes’ answer she’d hoped for, but it wasn’t an absolute no either. There was still hope.

After that, Mikasa was guided down the white staircases, back into the room that just an hour ago she stood in awe. Now she stood in the exact same entrance, but the elegance and luxuriousness she’d taken note on before had disappeared. Now all she saw was a cold, empty house in which a broken girl who was struggling to stand her ground lived in. 

 

The whole way home, Mikasa didn’t even pay attention to the scenery as she passed all the other expensive houses, as she thought about her afternoon with Annie.  
About how much respect she’d gained for the smaller girl.  
Even though she wasn’t sure she’d see Annie at practice on Monday, she’d at least been able to have the smaller girl open up to her.  
Perhaps this was a start to them rebuilding tolerance for each other again.  
And even if it was just a possibility, for them to expand this ‘tolerance’.

The sun was setting as Mikasa pulled up to the Saffron Community gates that stood in her way. She stopped her car.  
So many questions were still unsolved, and even though Annie had told her some pretty serious things about herself, their relationship was still unsteady, almost as if it could collapse at any given moment. But whatever the circumstances would be, now that Mikasa had learned more about the smaller girl, she vowed never to make assumptions just at first glance ever again. After all, the possibilities of the future were endless. 

A ghost of a smile danced on her lips as she started her car up, and pushed through the gates, not looking back as they closed behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello
> 
> So this is probably the deepest/darkest chapter in All In so far. It was never supposed to be so serious, but it just happened that way and well, I think it suits the story.  
> From now on the chapters will be less dark, but I promise it will still follow the story line I have in mind :) ALSO MIKASA GO FOR IT ANNIE LITERALLY JUST TOLD YOU SHE'S GAY 
> 
> I'm also considering changing the rating to M because in the upcoming chapters I think it may be necessary so....
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading All In!  
> Constructive feedback is always welcome ( although I'm a bit scared ) so feel free to comment! 
> 
> P.S : I was listening to Doing Just Fine by T.U.E when I was writing this, so if you trust my music judgement go listen to it xD


	6. That's What You Get

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems as if Annie is back. Now that she is, Mikasa will have to deal with her presence again, which includes talking to her. You wanted her back so badly right Mikasa? Well, then that's what you get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So guys, this has absolutely nothing to do with the chapter but AoT S2 came out last weekend and I'm so HYPED I don't care if it's only 12 episodes, the ending of Ep1 had me literally breathless, I totally forgot how intense AoT is!
> 
> So yeah, back to the story, I changed the format so it's a bit clearer to read ( from now on it will be written like my Yang x Weiss story ) 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading as always
> 
> * more notes at the end

The rest of the weekend had been spent doing the usual. Working out, shopping for groceries, homework of course, and it flew by so quickly she didn't really have time to worry about whether or not Annie would show up to Monday practice.

Today was Monday however, and all her previous anxiety from last Friday had returned. Not only was it the week of her first Varsity Softball Tournament, but if Annie didn’t make an appearance at practice she’d be done for.  
And so would the team.

Mikasa bit her fingernail out of habit as she stood outside of the girl’s locker room, lost in her thoughts.

“Hey ‘Kasa” Ymir said to her, emerging from the door. “Who you waitn’ for?”

“Annie” Mikasa muttered as she stood up from her leaning position. Ymir blinked before her mouth formed a tiny o. “If she isn’t here today Coach will have her miss the tournament on Thursday. After that, who knows? This softball team will turn to mush without her”

Ymir patted Mikasa on the head. “It’ll be fine kid, don’t worry. If Annie does miss practice again, then she’s clearly making a statement. She doesn’t want it badly enough.”

 _That’s a lie_! Mikasa thought and winced as she’d bit the inside of her cheek. The metal tang of blood hit her mouth as she thought about her conversation with the Catcher. She knew it wasn’t that Annie didn’t want to be on the team. If it wasn’t for her stupid stepmother…

“Alright everyone, fall in” Coach Smith bellowed as the girls began moving towards him. Mikasa gave one last nervous glance at the door, but no sign of the smaller girl.  
Mikasa cursed.

“We have a tournament on Thursday and will be held at Trost High school. I’ve sent an email to you all about the specific details you’ll need to keep in mind. Varsity girls have one extra set of games on Saturday so be prepared to get back to school around 7:30.”

Mikasa internally groaned. Travelling for weekend games would literally be hell since they were leaving Thursday morning. Plus THS was literally hours away and the thought of being stuck on a bus for 2+ hours with teenage hormonal girls was already giving her a migraine.

Coach took a few more minutes to go over the procedures and talk about rules when suddenly all eyes were on Mikasa ( who had zoned out ) and everyone was silent.

“Mikasa” he said again. “Did you ever find out if Annie will be able to make it?”

The brunette couldn’t speak. She really didn’t know for sure, because although her chat with the smaller girl hadn’t completely ruled out her playing for the team again, she hadn’t exactly said yes.  
She couldn’t move as people stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Ymir nudged her side and Mikasa let out a breath she’d been holding in.

“Do you want me to say no ‘Kasa?”

Her throat dry, Mikasa was about to open her mouth when suddenly a voice from not so far away said,  
“I’m here I’m here” and Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat.

Everyone turned around to face towards the person who was speaking, and there, in front of the whole team stood Annie Leonhart looking as unfazed as she always did.  
There was silence of course, and no one spoke as Coach slowly registered what was happening.

“Annie” he spoke slowly. “It’s good to see you again. I’d like to have a conversation with you in just a minute” he turned to face the rest of the team, who all had their eyes glued on Annie. “Levi, Christa and Zoe have them start with what we talked about. In 30 minutes I want you all on the field.”

Mikasa craned her neck to try to listen to what Coach was saying, but was split as Christa led the varsity girls into the gym.

The whole time they did warm up drills the only thing on Mikasa’s mind was what Annie and Coach Smith were talking about. He’d let her come now right? She’d lived up to her promise to get Annie back to practice - after all the trouble she’d gone through, he wouldn’t dismiss her efforts.

Mikasa felt worry churning in her body as practiced drained on, leaving her body sore and her mind tired. By the time practice was over, Mikasa was about to pass out partially because of her body being overworked, and also because her mind had been racing ever since Annie and Coach had disappeared. They hadn't been back for the whole practice, and it was making her anxious as hell.

It was 5:00 when practice ended, and she contemplated waiting for Annie but after another 10 minutes passed, reluctantly she headed to her car and drove home.

Did she make it? Was she going to go to Thursday's tournament?

“Hey ‘Kasa” Levi said when she got home. He'd beaten her to it, since she'd stayed at school a good extra 20 minutes changing and although she hated to admit it, waiting for Annie. “You ok?”

“Stellar” Mikasa mumbled as she made her way to her room, and shut the door. She quickly undressed and got in the shower, turning up the 1975 as she washed herself. After a good 4 songs, she got out and pulled out a plain t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Her phone read 7:30 but Mikasa was anything but hungry so instead of going downstairs, she plopped on her bed and started scrolling through social media ( totally not looking for an Annie Leonhart on Instagram ), trying to see if she had any way to ask Annie would be happening. Sadly though, she couldn't find her.

Mikasa needed to get a hold of Annie but she had no way to get in contact with her when suddenly she remembered something, and face palmed.

She had Annie's number in her contacts!

Feeling stupid, she opened up her phone and started looking through her recents when she saw it and smiled.

(818) 6050-661.

She debated for a few minutes whether or not to call or text her. They were on good terms now, so surely Annie wouldn't ignore her. She hoped she wouldn't anyways.

Mikasa chewed her lip as she typed in Annie's number into a new text. Why the hell was she so nervous? She just wanted to make sure Annie wasn't leaving the Softball team, and there was nothing wrong with that!

Mikasa's hands fumbled with the letters as she typed.

_Hey Annie. So uh, how'd it go? What’d Coach tell you are you coming to the tournament?_

There. That wasn't so bad. But why was Mikasa's heart beating as she waited for the reply? A minute passed, then two then three.

This is pointless, Mikasa thought as she stared at her phone scowling. Sooner or later she'd have to eat dinner and who knows how long it could take Annie to look at her phone. Exasperated and now a bit hungry, Mikasa was about to go downstairs when her phone vibrated really loudly, making her jump as she scrambled to her phone.

_Ngl was pretty pissed @ me but what can u do? I'll be on the bench most likely but I can go_

Mikasa sighed in relief. So what if Annie wasn't going to be playing 24/7 at least she was going to be able to come.

_Thats gr8 I’m happy for you :)_

Oh god. Did she just use a smiley face? Mikasa waited anxiously for Annie to reply, and played with the end of her hair as she saw the ‘texting’ bubble appear on the bottom of her screen.

_Thanx. See u at practice 2mr?_

_U know it_

_Cool. see u then :)_

_Yea_

That was it. Mikasa rolled on her back and stared up at the ceiling. It was only Monday, and she was already counting down the minutes until Wednesday.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

 

The next morning Mikasa actually had time to eat breakfast before school. There was a late start because the teachers had early morning meetings, and Mikasa sighed contently as she bit into her plain piece of toast.

Morning workouts were today in a good hour, so Mikasa figured she could enjoy herself until then. After a while though, she got bored and turned to HW. She was just about to start reading page 126 of the Crucible when she heard her phone ring.

Sighing, she picked up the phone and heard Ymir’s voice on the other end.

“Hey ‘Kasa” her best friend said. “So you know how we have morning practice today? Do ya think you could pick me up?”

“Oh sure” Mikasa replied, blowing her hair from her face. She loved Ymir, but her friend’s house was a bit out of her way to school. “I’ll swing around in like 10 minutes”

“Thanks ‘Kasa! You’re literally the best I’ll get ready!” Ymir said. “See you in a bit!”

“Yep!” Mikasa hung up, and set her phone down along with the Crucible. It seemed like her homework would have to be put off once again.

Soon Mikasa and Ymir were zipping down the streets listening to music and eating sweet chips ( it was Ymir’s idea ) and probably looking like fools as they pulled up to the SHS parking lot.

“Whew!” Ymir said as they stepped out. “I don’t know about you but I’m ready to conquer the fucking world!”

“Not in your softball clothes” Mikasa chuckled and Ymir punched her playfully as they walked into the school and the varsity gym.

It was 9:55 and since they’d already changed, they skipped the girls locker room. As soon as they got into the gym, Mikasa watched as Ymir ditched her and sprinted to Christa. The two of them smiled and hugged each other ( whatever happened to their ‘secret’ relationship was a mystery to Mikasa ) and Ymir said something most likely witty, to the smaller girl and she laughed.

It made Mikasa kind of bitter. Not that she despised seeing people in love, but the fact that she didn’t have anyone like that in her life even though she was 18 was sort of, well..... And prom was coming up in a less than a month too….

“Hey Ackerman, think fast”

“Wha - ” Mikasa felt something hit her in the back of her head and she turned around to see Annie had thrown her SHS Titans sweatshirt at her. She smirked.

“You have shit slow reflexes Ackerman” she snickered and Mikasa fumed as she laughed. “Not quite what I’d expect from the Ace of the Team”

“Shut up” she muttered, but she didn’t mean it of course. To see Annie back and at it with her harmless taunts was definitely a good sign. She handed the smaller girl back her sweatshirt and realized that the girl had a different shirt on than normal. She took the sweatshirt, and headed towards where Coach Smith was standing, leaving Mikasa to stare at her back.

Annie Leonhart #10

Annie had on a jersey! Mikasa thought excitedly. That meant she would too!

Everyone had gathered into the center of the gym, and sure enough Coach was handing out jerseys to all the varsity girls. Mikasa poked her way to the front and scanned for her name when she saw it.

Mikasa Ackerman #26.

She immediately grabbed it and, without caring, starting lifting up her shirt to change into her new jersey. It wasn’t weird, since she had an undershirt on and Coach Smith had gone into his office for something, but she still felt a bit embarrassed as she quickly pulled the material over her body.

Once it was on though, she didn’t regret putting it on. It was high quality, comfy and a maroonish red. Bold lettering on the back had her name and her number, and Mikasa felt like she was finally part of a real, serious team. Which she was.

“Ok fall in everyone” Coach Smith said, returning from his office with a clipboard. “As always, we’ll be starting our morning practice with team bonding. I’m assuming you all read the email I sent to you with all the information?”

There was silence because of course, none of them had.

“Thought so. Your homework tonight is to read the details about Thursday’s Tournament. There is things that you will want to know to prepare yourself, so I highly recommend you read it sooner than later. My only other announcement is that as you can see, we got our jerseys in for the Tournament. I expect all of you to be ready on Thursday wearing them proudly - remember, you are the student body that is representing Shiganshina High School when we go to Trost High School so please keep that in mind.” he paused. “Alright, now let’s do it to it”

Practice only lasted 45 minutes that day because after team bonding they went outside ( even though it was still chilly ) to practice hitting. It was of course, a walk in the park for Mikasa, but some  
of the Varsity girls who were fielders clearly didn’t have much hitting experience. They then did base drills, and a game simulation. Time flew by, and pretty soon practice was over and Mikasa was back in the girl’s locker room.

“You’re still gonna wear that to class” Ymir asked when Mikasa shut her locker, still in her jersey.

“Of course! Where’s your team spirit at Ymir?”

“My team spirit has nothing to do with the fact people don’t want to smell sweaty softball players all day”

“Oh shut up! I’m not that bad”

“Pfft here” Ymir handed her some dry shampoo. “At least your hair will smell good.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes, but sprayed it in her hair anyways.

The rest of the day was full of the usual, and Mikasa just prayed that school would end so she could actually read the email Coach had sent out, before he would start breathing fire.

Mikasa let her mind wander throughout history, her eyes fixed outside and staring at the rain. It was so gloomy these days, she needed to figure a way stay cheerful despite the big water droplets falling from the sky.

After her class, she was able to leave ( seniors only of course ) and drove home.

The house was empty when she got home, the lights were off and she checked her phone to see that Levi was out with Eren, wherever that might be.

_B home @ 10:30 no ltr go do somethin fun_

Mikasa sighed. Something fun.

She opened her laptop and logged into her school email account when she found it, and smiled. Coach had written : Important news for Thursday's Tournament in all caps.

Mikasa clicked on the email, and the first thing she was greeted with was a long paragraph, basically just saying ‘hello, thank you for having your student join the SHS Softball team this year we hope that your child is able to enjoy this opportunity in Varsity and/or JV sincerely the SHS softball department.’

Below that was a list of names and the positions which Mikasa already knew of course, and then there was something attached that caught her eye. Dorm / bus assignments?

Now that she thought about it, Trost high school was a couple of hours away and of course they'd be staying at THS’s dorms, since there was no way they'd be driving all the way back to SHS only to leave again in the morning.

Mikasa clicked the attachment that read ‘dorm assignments’ and realized that people had already started filling out their names in the empty spots.  
Mikasa scanned for Ymir’s name and made a mental note to give her friend hell about it later since she and Christa were going to be sharing a room.

It made since of course. Ymir would want to be as close to Christa as humanly possible, but Mikasa sometimes just wanted to scream ‘What about me?’

She loved her best friend and was happy for her, but sometimes she got tired of Ymir always being with Christa. It was silly and selfish, but those feelings were always in the back of her mind no matter how hard she tried to cover them.

She looked through the other girl’s names and her heart sank. Truthfully, she'd have been hanging around Ymir too much to really get to know the other varsity girls, and now there was a problem. She didn't know any of them but Ymir.

Wait. There was one other person.

Oh shit. Annie.

Mikasa groaned. The only other person she knew well enough on the team besides Ymir was Annie, and of course they weren't exactly friends. More like they had an understanding for each other, but definitely not friends.  
Still, as much as Mikasa hated to admit it, Annie was the only other girl on the team that she actually knew well enough.

I should ask her, Mikasa thought as she typed on her name. But should she? Annie would probably not be happy either, but what was the other option? Going with random people and having it be 10000x more awkward, or room with someone you sort of know but also don't really like?

There was really only one option to begin with and Mikasa knew it. Soon she had her phone in her hand, and was about to text Annie, but whenever her hands came to the letters, she couldn't think of what to say.

Ugh forget it, she thought. I'll just share a dorm with whoever doesn't have someone else. It is only one two nights after all.

She was about to give up when her phone vibrated loudly, and her phone’s interface read Annie. She’d texted her.

_Hey. U wanna dorm w/ me_

Mikasa’s mouth dropped open. Just a second ago, she was literally going to ask Annie that exact question, and here she was the one doing the asking.

_Yea sure_

_Kk should I put our names_

_Yea_

There was a pause and Mikasa could see in the document her name being added next to Annie’s. So the smaller girl clearly wasn't against sharing a dorm together. That was good.

_K I added u_

_Thanx_

_Yea also dun worry we can divide the room into 2_

Ok. So maybe she was a little bit.

_Ok_

_Yup cool. See u tmr_

_Ok_

Mikasa shut off her phone, and laid her head on the table. If the anticipation for the tournament wasn't already enough now she was going to be with Annie for practically the whole weekend. She had wanted Annie back on the team, but suddenly having to be near the smaller girl would be awkward.

Whatever was going to happen at the tournament couldn't be half as bad as having to be around her, but to Mikasa's surprise, she wasn't just worried about the fact Annie didn't like her. She was worried that she'd have to be around her, and that was just stupid!

She was Annie, not the coach. There was absolutely nothing Mikasa should feel intimidated about! But even so, there was something about the smaller girl that pushed Mikasa over the edge and at times make her lose her cool girl mask. Why was that?

No one else could make her feel so exposed and vulnerable at times.  
No one but Annie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hello again!
> 
> My friend had a softball tournament and left yesterday ( Thursday ) which is what kind of inspired me to write this chapter!
> 
> Also, Mikasa and Annie sharing a dorm room for 2 whole nights? Yes please ;) Just kidding haha I don't know what I'll have them do, but yeah I changed the rating to M because honestly it needed to be done sooner than later.
> 
> Thank you again for reading All In!
> 
> Comments are always welcome, and yeah, hopefully Annie will have an appearence in S2 though it's highly doubted :( UPSET I WANT MIKANNIE x(
> 
> Solar02 ( 4/7/17 )


	7. On The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa and the Shiganshina Highschool Softball girls are finally on the way to their first ever game as a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> So I haven't been writing as much as usual due to school x(  
> This whole story was supposed to be done by the end of softball season, but at this pace that wont be happening, plus I want to really take my time with All In.
> 
> Anyways, thank you as always for reading!   
> Please leave feedback because believe it or not, it really helps me stay motivated and improve my story :)
> 
> *More notes at the end

Mikasa had spent the past three days packing for Thursday’s tournament. Coach Smith had kindly provided a list of ‘suggested things to bring’, but as she read through it, she noticed some of the things on the list seemed unnecessary. Pants? A sweatshirt? They were headed south of Shiganshina City, why on earth would she need to bring warm clothes when it was spring!

At 6:45, Mikasa dragged herself out of bed, showered, and got dressed in a pair of shorts and her SHS hoodie. She figured if she was going to be stuck on a bus all day she might as well be comfortable. She then quickly made sure she had packed everything she needed for the tournament ( her softball gear, clothes, personal hygiene products, her phone charger, money ) and after she took everything out of her suitcase and counted each individual item, she put everything back into the luggage and headed downstairs where Levi was sitting. 

When she entered the kitchen, he looked up and smiled at her, though something was wrong. Very wrong.

“You packed everything for two nights in that?” Mikasa almost fainted. Her brother just laughed as he patted the tiny nap sack on his lap. 

“What do you mean ‘Kas? All one really needs is a pair of shorts and a clean shirt and they’re good to go!” Mikasa rolled her eyes at her brother’s lame reasoning, as she recovered from her mini heart attack. But Levi looked extra excited which was pretty rare. 

“You look happy”

“Yeah, well,” Levi scratched his cheek and looked suddenly shy. “Eren is coming with us.”

“Wow,” Mikasa said, surprise present in her voice. “Really? Coach let him?”

“Eren is experienced with sport tournaments, and I asked Coach personally if I could bring someone along to help,” Levi defended immediately. “I mean, he doesn’t play Softball, but he could be useful. Like a waterboy or something”

Mikasa snorted and Levi threw his bag at her which hit her on the shoulder and surprisingly hurt. 

“Damn Levi what did you put in-”

“Shh!” her brother’s eyes flared as he put a finger to his mouth, and Mikasa understood. He was bringing alcohol, most likely to drink with Eren. 

“You know you’re dead if they find out” she warned and Levi smirked.

“You think Coach would really suspect me?” he chuckled. “Goodie goodie Levi Ackerman bringing forbidden contraband on a school event? Please, don’t worry ‘bout it ‘Kas, I’m not going to get caught.”

Mikasa hated to admit it, but her brother had a point. No one would ever even think of checking Levi’s bag since the likelyness of him carrying around alcohol wouldn’t cross anyone’s mind. 

“Besides, if you’re lucky you can come to my dorm and we can crack it open together” he joked and Mikasa threw her brother’s bag right back at him, but unlike her he caught it with ease before it even hit his body. “Nice try Mikasa” he deadpanned.

Mikasa raked her hands through her hair and didn’t respond as she grabbed her suitcase and headed towards the door. 

“Come on Levi” she said as she grabbed her keys from the key hanger. “I just wanna get this bus ride over with”

“Aye-aye Captain”

 

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The weather that day was just as glum as Mikasa felt. It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited for the tournament, but it was going to be a long weekend, and a long bus ride. Not to mention Mikasa hated closed spaces, and she had terrible car sickness. 

They’d taken Mikasa’s car since, and by the time it pulled into the SHS parking lot it was 7:30.   
Right on time. They got out of the car and started walking towards the front of the school, where there was a large bus waiting for all the players. Mikasa could practically hear the energized chatter coming from around the bus, and when they walked up to the front steps, girl’s were sitting on their phones, listening to music and talking loudly.

Mikasa internally groaned.

“Hello Ackermans” Coach Smith greeted with a smile. “You two ready for the first Softball tournament of the season?”

Levi nodded and Mikasa forced herself to smile weakly, but she already felt anxious about being stuck on the bus for an extended period of time. 

“Hey Coach, uh, how long will we be on the bus?”

“Well if the weather stays clear and the traffic isn’t too bad it should be around 7 hours.”

Mikasa wanted to die. 

“However we will be taking rest stops as they’re needed, so don’t worry you’ll have plenty of times to stretch and eat” 

Mikasa just nodded, but her insides were churning, and food did not interest her at the moment.   
Levi and Mikasa politely thanked Coach Smith, and the two siblings departed as Levi walked over to Eren and Zoe. She quickly found Ymir amongst the crowd of girls and walked over to her only to see she wasn’t alone. On the steps, Ymir and Christa were sitting and talking when she walked up. 

“Kasa!” Ymir said eagerly standing up to greet her. Mikasa made a small smile, but all of a sudden she felt alone. Her friend would be sitting next to Christa on the bus most likely, and Levi would sit by Eren. She would have to sit alone, which was just pitiful to think about and made her cringe. “Hey you, what’s up? Wanna sit across from me and Christa?”

“Sure, I’d like that” Mikasa replied, but it only showed that her speculations were correct and it stung a bit. “You excited Ymir….Christa?”

Ymir laughed, “You know it! I’m hella pumped” while Christa just smiled and said something Mikasa couldn’t hear because all of a sudden Coach was calling them all in. They walked towards the bus where he was doing a headcount in front of the bus.

“Alright, Everyone’s here but….” he said, but his face was twisted into a frown before he sighed. “Has anyone seen Annie?”

Of course the catcher was late. 

People around her shrugged and looked at each other, and Mikasa raged silently. They were supposed to leave at 7:45 and it was now 8:00! The later they left, the later they’d get at Trost and all she wanted was for the trip there to be over with.

“Hey ‘Kas where are you going?” she heard Ymir call after her, but she was too busy walking towards the steps again with her phone pressed to her ear.

On the fourth ring it finally picked up. “Annie!” Mikasa hissed. “Where the hell are you we’re waiting!”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry look I’ll be there in 5.” the voice said on the other end. “Eva didn’t want me to use her porsche panamera so I had to use her volkswagen without her permission. I’ll recieve hell about it later but I’m already going out on a limb.” Annie paused. “Just don't….don’t let them leave without me” 

Annie’s voice full of desperation and Mikasa felt her anger slip. 

“We’re not going to leave without you Annie” she said into the phone, and although she couldn’t see the smaller girl’s face, she imagined it tight with anxiousness. “I’ll tell Coach you’re on the way”

“Thank you” Annie breathed. “I’m going to hang up now, I’m about to go 75 - shit is that a police car I see-”

Beep. Annie hung up before Mikasa could tell her to be careful. 

“Annie says she’ll be here in five minutes” Mikasa told Coach, leaving out the part of her stealing her stepmother’s car and possibly getting a ticket for speeding. 

“Thank you Mikasa” he said gratefully. “I’ll have everyone start boarding the bus please. Make sure your luggage is stored underneath the bus - don’t leave it here or you’re out of luck. I’ll do a final headcount when everyone’s situated.”

Mikasa grabbed her luggage and shoved it below the bus, but while everyone, including Ymir and Christa got on the bus she waited a bit, trying to spot Annie. She had no idea what Eva’s volkswagen looked like but she was guessing it would look expensive?

After another two minutes, everyone was on the bus but her, and she played with the end of her hair, filled with worry.

Hurry up Annie.

After a few more minutes, she was about to step into the bus when she spotted a deep blue car zip into the parking lot, and Annie jumped out of the vehicle, running towards the bus with her belongings. She didn’t say anything, just went and put her luggage beneath the bus and shut the door. 

“I’m here,” she panted as she pushed past Mikasa and walked towards the Coach. “I’m sorry there was a lot of traffic”

“It’s fine” Coach said, but he had a firm look on his face. “Just please try to work on punctuality”

“I will” Annie replied as she dashed into the bus. Mikasa just watched her, and then realized that now she had to get on as well. She looked back at the school and, taking one last deep breath of air, she climbed up the steps. The bus was crowded, everyone already seated and talking with friends. Crap. She had nowhere to sit. Levi and Eren were in the back with Zoe, and Ymir and Christa were huddled towards the middle listening to music together. 

“Alright everyone, please be seated we’re about to leave!” the bus driver said and Mikasa panicked. She’d have to sit somewhere but where? She heard Coach Smith climb the bus stairs behind her and felt her hands sweat. She’d sit alone. Pathetic, but she’d do it. 

She started walking towards the one empty seat left, which was one in front of Christa and Ymir. She could see it, it was empty by a window. Sighing in relief, she quickly started walking towards the middle of the bus just as the doors closed. 

She reached the seat, and sat down quickly when suddenly a voice said, “Woah, hey what are you doing?”  
What? Mikasa looked to her left and realized she wasn’t alone. Next to her was Annie, who had her SHS hoodie pulled up to her nose and earbuds in her ears, which she yanked out as Mikasa stared at her in disbelief. 

She was positive this seat had been empty!

“You’re too damn short” she muttered and Annie’s eyes flared.

“What did you say?”

“I couldn’t even see you were in this seat because you’re too short!” she repeated, annoyance in her voice and Annie straightened up.

“That’s it. Get out. I refuse to spend this bus ride seated next to you!”

“If it weren’t for your height I would’ve known you were sitting here and avoided you!” Mikasa humphed and was about to stand up, when she heard a voice. 

“Miss, the vehicle is in motion, for your safety and the safety of others please have a seat” the bus driver yelled from the front of the bus, and Mikasa blinked in disbelief. 

No way. 

She heard Annie make a ‘tch sound as she plopped back down onto the seat, not willing to make eye contact with the blonde. 

“You stay there” Annie muttered as Mikasa slumped in the uncomfortable seat and prayed to god her stomach wouldn’t give out. “Don’t. Move.”

“Whatever” Mikasa replied sourly, grabbing her phone and earbuds. If she was going to make it through this bus ride without her claustrophobia/car sickness taking control, she was going to need all the Twenty One Pilots she could get. 

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

After the second time listening to the entire Blurryface album, she took out her earbuds and winced at her splitting headache. The noise around her wasn’t going to help her aching head, but at the same time she couldn’t listen to anymore music without feeling nauseous. So instead, she started scrolling through her phone, trying to concentrate on reading her favorite manga, Attack on Titan. She’d lost track of time, but was just getting to the part where the mysterious girl with the red scarf was about to strike at the female titan, when she felt something on her left shoulder. 

She froze, she didn’t dare move, as she turned her eyes to see that Annie had fallen asleep, and was using her as a pillow. How on earth the smaller girl had managed to sleep with all the noise and chatter around them happening was a mystery, but that wasn’t what was bothering Mikasa. 

Annie was thisclose. And if there was one thing Mikasa was sure of at that moment, was the catcher’s proximity had a big effect on her. 

Should she push her off? No, Annie would certainly get angry at her, and right now her head hurt so much she wasn’t in the mood to have a run in with the catcher. That didn’t stop Mikasa from feeling awkward as hell, as the noise continued to drain on and Annie not seeming to wake up anytime soon. Mikasa lost track of how many times she watched the smaller girl’s chest rise and fall, as she continued to sleep with the most peaceful look she’d ever seen on her.

Careful not to make any sudden movements, she tried to slowly inch away from Annie. It was working, until she felt Annie once again lean into her, and let out a small sigh as her head rested against her shoulder.   
Fuck she was cute. Err, wait, what? 

Mikasa sighed. It was impossible to get the catcher off her without waking her up, and she certainly didn’t want that to happen. Finally giving up on her options, she decided to put down her phone, and just lean back and try to relax. 

She just sat there for a while, listening to her breath, and she felt time slow down. All of the noise seemed to fade into the distance, as she let her mind slowly stop racing. It wasn’t until now she’d realized how tired she was, and how little sleep she’d gotten from the nights before, her mind too busy with thoughts of the upcoming tournament for it to properly rest. All of sudden, she felt this urge to take a nap, and let all of her anxiety fade away along with the noise and the pressure. 

She felt her eyelids start to close, and at that moment, she couldn’t hear any of the background sounds from around her. All she could hear was the steady beating of her heart, and the repeated breaths from the girl sitting next to her. 

 

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

 

When Mikasa opened her eyes again, she squinted against the light that shone through the bus’s windows. She groaned as she sat up and pulled out her phone. 3:00? They would be at Trost soon!

Her heart soared as she let her mind fantasize about how good a long, hot shower would feel when she remembered who she was sharing a room with. But whatever.

“It’s about time” Annie muttered next to her, and Mikasa had totally forgot the girl she’d be sharing a dorm room with was also sitting right next to her. “You were totally leaning on me”

Mikasa felt her face warm as she bit her tongue from replying ‘You were the one who fell asleep on me first!’. Instead, she ignored the catcher, and tried to contain her excitement. They were almost there! 

Mikasa looked out of Annie’s window, and watched as towns and field passed by as they continued to drive into the heart of trost. After another 30 minutes, Coach Smith announced that they’d made it. Mikasa was literally the first one out of the bus, even though she was sitting towards the middle. She pushed past the other bodies, eager to breath fresh air and stretch. The moment her feet hit the ground, her breath was taken away at the sight in front of her..

Trost High School was huge! Three stories high with sparkling windows and pristine lawns, and students pouring out of of the school. Mikasa had been on the road for the past 7 hours, and totally forgot there was technically school today. She breathed in the sweet smell of fresh air and sighed. They’d made it. 

And now she’d have to put all her anxiety behind her, and recreate her game face.   
For in less than 24 hours, they’d be on the field, competing as a team.  
Aiming for the top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again :)
> 
> So just to clarify, if you haven't noticed, I've created it so Mikasa has anxiety. Some may say that this doesn't fit her 'character', but honestly a lot of high schoolers experience mental health disorders and shouldn't be overlooked. It's unrealistic to push these things under the rug and not talk about them, so yep. I haven't gone into depth about explaining Mikasa's anxiety very well but I will in the upcoming chapters. 
> 
> On a lighter note I'm excited because prom is almost here which means after this 'first game arc' I can focus on the Prom at SHS and who knows maybe Mikasa will get a date other than Armin xD 
> 
> Thank you for reading as always!   
> \- Solar ( 4.18.17 ) 
> 
> P.S I wrote this story listening to the Snowfield OST


	8. Dance of the Nine Muses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The softball tournament at Trost High School is finally beginning, and it's their first time playing a real game as a team. And how will Mikasa act around her roommate Annie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So this is the longest chapter I've ever written ( at it's also up very fast! ), with some MikAnnie surfacing at LAST! I've changed my writing style a bit as well to make it better.
> 
> Also, keep in mind I myself am not a softball player so if some of the terminology/scoring rules aren't spot on I'm sorry I'm doing my best <3
> 
> The next chapter will hopefully be out soon as well, since I'm trying to get this story finished by June and I still have a lot I want to add. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you as always for reading All In :)
> 
> *More notes at the end

__Mikasa felt as if her mind was going to explode. It had been 4 hours since they’d gotten off the bus and arrived at Trost High School, but all this talk about history and school founders and boring shit was making Mikasa want to actually scream. They’d gotten a tour from the principal, who seemed to think it was important to tell every freaking detail about the school, including the fact that there wasn’t much to talk about because THS was literally built 2 years ago.

But after a grueling hour and forty minutes, all the SHS students were finally free of the horrid lady. Coach Smith then announced they’d be going out to eat before they got to the dorms. Mikasa bit her tongue from asking if she could stay behind. All this sitting was just making her antsy, and the thought of being on the bus again made her a bit sick. But of course, she was an Ackerman and didn’t want to be rude. They went out for steak ( a Trost specialty apparently ), and while everyone stuffed their faces, she sat back and barely even touched her green beans.

Much to her relief, they made it back to THS at around 8:00, and Mikasa was itching to get to her dorm room and jump in a nice, hot shower. On the way to the dorms, she’d got caught up talking with another girl from another team, who seemed very sweet until she introduced herself as the Team Captain.  
“Well, it was nice meeting you” she waved, as she started turning the opposite direction. Mikasa nodded and smiled, realizing she’d forgotten to ask the girl’s name.

It wasn’t until after that encounter that Mikasa realized how unprepared she was for this tournament. The girl, whatever her name was, looked so confident. The way she carried herself with pride and assurance in not only the team, but herself made Mikasa realize everything she was lacking. She didn’t feel confident. And if she didn’t have enough faith in herself how would she be able to keep up the energy in her team, when she herself wasn’t even sure of her capabilities as Captain.

All of these thoughts came crashing into her like a tidal wave, and leaving her a wreck in it’s wake. Maybe that’s why Mikasa suddenly felt her feet drag as she walked towards her dorm room. Maybe that was why she felt as if a big invisible fist made up of all her responsibilities and doubts in herself just punched her hard in the stomach. Maybe that’s why she flipped out when she opened the door to the dorm room.

“Fuck” was all she could say as she walked in. The room was small - too small - with two identical beds, two desks and two closets. It wasn’t the room that made her head start to hurt. It was the girl sitting on the right bed that was the cause of her reaction. “I forgot about you.”

“Don’t look so happy to see me” Annie deadpanned, and Mikasa just rolled her eyes. She had no reason to argue with Annie at this moment, and if she was going to be Captain that meant she’d have to get along with everybody. Whatever.

Someone had done the honors of taping a blue tape from one end of the room to the other.

“You’re a child” Mikasa scoffed as she set her luggage down on the opposite bed, her back turned to Annie.

“Hey now, we both agreed on splitting the room” the response came back, not missing a beat, She decided to ignore her, and Mikasa didn’t waste any time flinging open her luggage and grabbing her shorts and a loose t-shirt that she’d packed. She grabbed her regular athletic shoes and her phone. “Where are you going?” Annie asked as Mikasa made her way towards the door.

“For a walk” she said. Annie looked surprised.

“You do realize it’s almost 8:30 and we have a game tomorrow right?”

Mikasa just shrugged. So what if it was 8:30? If she didn’t clear her head before tomorrow there was no telling what state she’d be in. Certainly not in one fit to be the ace of the SHS Softball Team. “If I’m not back by 10 tell Levi,” was all she said as she tied her shoes and stood up.

“10? You fuckin’ crazy Ackerman?” that phrase sounded too familiar. Mikasa fought the urge to laugh, as she shut the door, not bothering to answer Annie’s ridiculous question.  
She was out of her mind.

The moment Mikasa left the doors of THS she realized how wrong she’d been about Trost being southern to Shiganshina City. Was it supposed to be this cold?  
She wrapped her arms around herself as she started walking at a brisk pace to keep from shivering. Her feet hit the pavement as she started walking around the huge building. Thanks to the principle’s elaborate tour of the school, she knew her way around Trost better than she should. She walked to the Garden of the Nine Muses, where she finally sat down, no longer minding the cold that flooded onto her skin.

‘This isn’t good’ she thought to herself as she stared at the plants surrounding her. She felt her presence held just as much worth as the stone muses that were chipping on the fountain in front of her. Mikasa felt herself crumbling. Her confidence shattering. Her mind destroying all of her defenses she’d tried hard to keep up.

 

So much was happening too fast. She’d wanted to make it to Varsity, but suddenly the pressure of being number one was finally sinking in. So far, the only thing she’d had to do as ‘Captain’ was get Annie to start coming back to practices, but as much as she hated to admit it, even that wasn’t really her doing. Annie was motivated in the first place, but outside issues with her family and her own mental state were what was holding her back.

But Mikasa? She had no experience with being Captain, or being in charge of such a large responsibility. It was like she would be the one feeling responsible for their failure, instead of Coach Smith. Why was she like this? Always looking and focusing on the negative, and letting her mind get the best of her? She folded herself into a small ball as she sat there, letting the cold rush through her veins and chill her body, as she stared into the muse’s unseeing marble eyes.

 

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

It was 9:30 when Mikasa made it back to the dorm, and her hands were frozen as she opened the door. She looked for Annie, but the girl wasn’t on her bed, and when she peered into the shared bathroom, she realized the catcher wasn’t in there either.

Odd.

Mikasa didn’t think much of it. It’s not like she cared where the hell Annie was of course, and instead got in the shower, rubbing her hands and trying to get some heat back into her body. She let the hot stream of water beat down on her skin as she shut her eyes. She willed her anxiousness for tomorrow’s tournament to leave her, and flow off her body smoothly just as the water did, disappearing into the drain never to be seen again.

Unfortunately that was wishful thinking. She got out of the shower, with a towel wrapped around her head and in her pajamas when she walked into the main room and she almost dropped her towel.

“Annie!” she exclaimed, her face flushing a bright red. “Jesus, put some clothes on will you!”  
She turned around, not wanting to face forward in fear that she might drop more than just her towel. Annie was back, as expected but what she hadn’t expected was for Annie to be perched on top of the bed in nothing but underwear and a bra. To be fair, they were boy short underwear but still! Had this girl no shame?

“What do you mean” Annie muttered from the other side of the room, but Mikasa refused to turn around. “This is what I always sleep in”

Mikasa didn’t say anything, and she heard the blonde sigh.

“Look I’m going to bed now,” Annie sighed. “Stay turned around for a few more minutes so I can climb under the sheets. Oh by the way, you’re dripping.”

At that moment Mikasa was glad she was facing the wall. Number one, because Annie’s comment made her whole body _heated_ with annoyance, and number two, if she looked the catcher she’d probably pounce on her. To shut her up of course.

Mikasa waited a good couple of minutes until she heard what sounded like Annie was fully under the sheets. When she turned around, Annie was facing the wall her back turned to her and her hands tucked underneath her body. Mikasa stood on the other side of the blue tape and picked up her towel ( which had fallen on the floor in the end ), a ghost of a smile on her lips.

She really was like a child. And part of her sisterly instinct wanted to protect that.

 

Mikasa woke up to find that it was not morning yet - not even close - and instead was shivering all the way from her head to toes. Her whole body felt as if she was sleeping in an igloo. She pulled back the loose covers, her hands shaking as she reached for her phone which was sitting on top of her desk. The interface lit up, causing her to squint as she read it’s interface.  
1 A.M?

Shit. This was the worst possible thing that could happen, the night before the tournament. It was absolutely freezing, and no matter how hard Mikasa tried to fall back asleep, the cold seemed to keep her from doing anything of that sort. After about 30 more minutes of trying to keep warm, she finally gave up and reached for her phone. It’s interface lit up again, casting haunty shadows on the wall when a voice groaned, “Ugh, could you turn that thing off?”

Mikasa gulped immediately and shut it off. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine” Annie replied sleepily from the other side of the room. “Wasn’t going to get much sleep at this point anyways. It’s fucking cold in here”

“I’ve been up for forty minutes trying to sleep” Mikasa admitted, her teeth chattering as she spoke. “I guess Coach Smith wasn’t totally off his rocker when he said to pack warm clothes.”

There was a groan from across the room and she heard Annie let out a slew of curses.

“Reiner warned me about this” Annie grumped, and Mikasa assumed Reiner was one of Annie’s friends. Even though she never saw Annie with anyone. “He told me Trost was so new that their heating systems are faulty. Guess this ‘faulty’ system had to fail now.”

“We’re going to be so tired tomorrow” Mikasa whispered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. If only the covers were thicker.  
The other half of the room was silent, and after a few moments Mikasa wondered if Annie had left her for the dream land, when there was a voice from the other end of the room, one filled with reluctance.

“We could sleep together” It said quietly and Mikasa let out a scoff at Annie’s weird way of wording things. Then she felt a pillow thwack her in the head. “Oh shut up perv. I mean for body warmth.”

All jokes aside, Mikasa hated to admit it, but Annie was right. Of course if they slept together and combined their flimsy sheets they’d be warmer.

‘All she has on is freakin undergarments!’ Mikasa thought, slight warmth building on her cheeks.

Mikasa didn’t know what she was doing other than she was about to get in bed with Annie. She tiptoed across the blue taped line, grimacing as her toes touched the hard cold floor. She stopped in her tracks when she got to the foot of Annie’s bed. The blonde had turned so her back was facing her, but she knew she wasn’t sleeping.

“What are you waiting for?” Annie quipped, her voice muffled by the pillow. “You’re making this awkward”

Mikasa rolled her eyes, since she was the one who’d suggested the whole sharing beds thing. Nonetheless, this was a one time thing, and it was critical they both got enough sleep so they had energy for tomorrow.

‘For the team’ Mikasa thought, as she slid into the small bed next to the blonde. It was barely big enough for two, but they made it work, a few ‘ows’ and ‘watch its’ making it into the process. But she was in. And as much as wanted to deny it, she was warmer. While she’d expected icy vibes from Annie, all she could feel from the smaller girl was warmth as she tried to move closer to her without actually touching her.

Mikasa was still cold, but not as cold as when she’d been alone. She laid there for a few minutes, staring at the nape of Annie’s neck and listening to the smaller girl breath. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she felt the slightest bit of movement from the body next to her and realized Annie was still shivering in her sleep.

‘She’s so tiny’ Mikasa mused as she imagined being in Annie’s body right now. Of course she was probably even colder than Mikasa was, since she was so small.  
Mikasa didn’t know what she was doing, but at that moment she was too tired and too cold to care, as she scooted closer to Annie and draped her arm over the smaller girl’s body.  
The shivering, the cold feeling, and somehow, the worry seemed to fade as Mikasa swore she felt Annie’s body relaxed into hers.  
She let herself drift into a deep sleep.

 

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Mikasa woke up to music, loud enough for her to hear, coming from the bathroom.  
Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and - holy shit - it was 8:00? She had to be down to the field by 9:30!

That's all it took for her body to spring into action as she jumped up and grabbed her shower bag when she remembered the bathroom was occupied at the moment.

“Annie?” She knocked on the door, but realized the girl's music was too loud. She groaned. “Annie I'm coming in.”

Mikasa didn't know what hit her first, the blast of MCR or the significant heat that blew up in her face or the sight in front of her. Annie had clearly showered, was dressed and was now standing in front of the mirror looking at herself.

“What are you doing?” Mikasa hissed as she shut off the music. Annie didn't reply for a long time.

“We can't do this.” She murmured, staring into her own cold eyes.

“Well if you start the day off like that, then you're right, we can't do this” Mikasa argued, pushing her way past the discarded towel and to the sink next to Annie. She starting brushing her hair.

“You don't understand Mikasa!” Annie whipped around so they were face to face, and Mikasa realized whatever was about to come next was clearly bothering the smaller girl. “If we lose...it will be my fault. I missed practices and showed up late, and if we're being completely honest, wasn't putting in much effort. And now it's game day. I'm going to ask Coach to bench me-”

“Goddamnit Annie” Mikasa interrupted. She did not want Annie to finish her stupid sentence. “I'm the one who's under the pressure here. I'm the team captain, and today, everyone's eyes will be on me. My performance. How I lead the team. But I can't! And now if you're benched who will fill in? It will make me look bad and the team will fail.”  
Annie was silent and Mikasa took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself.  
“I don't want that” she whispered, her hair falling over her eyes. “I'm afraid of disappointing everyone.”

She'd done it. She'd revealed her biggest secret. Everyone thinks the Ackermans have it all together, that they're perfect beyond belief and are strong and unafraid. And while maybe Levi could balance being the perfect student while managing to smoke pot and drink and have a boyfriend Mikasa couldn't. Failure would certainly follow if she lived on the edge, and her non acceptance to be anything less than perfect had always driven her to strive and keep fighting to the top.  
But now that she was at the top it was scary. She had people counting on her, watching her, judging her. And it was her day to shine. She couldn't mess it up.

‘Fuck you're so pathetic’ her mind screamed as she felt tears fall onto her hands. ‘Crying again. Always fucking crying, like that'll solve anything. Pull yourself together. Together...together…’

Suddenly she felt an arm on her shoulder, and looked up, her eyes probably blotchy from crying.

“We’re fucked Ackerman” Annie muttered into her ear. Mikasa hiccuped and brushed her hand over her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears when she felt small hands grab her face. Before she could think, she was once again looking down into Annie's blue eyes. And damn they were gorgeous. “But hey, if we fail we'll do it together. They can get mad at us and be disappointed in both of us. But we'll be in the same boat right? We can share the shame, and move on.”

Mikasa almost laughed. Hadn't Annie not be listening just then? It wasn't like they could share the blame, since everyone would turn to her. But she felt her arms wrap around the smaller girl and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Thank you Annie” she murmured into her shoulder. “I really mean it.”

Even if Annie wasn't thinking straight about the outcome of their first game, she had a better mindset than Mikasa, and her comforting words...helped. Even if they did fail, hopefully with the help of the team, she wouldn't have to face defeat by herself.  
Because they were a team. And if they wanted to be a real team, they’d have to all act as one, with their minds, bodies, and hearts, all in.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

‘Brace yourself. Focus. Don't look at the crowd, look at the home base, or the hitter, or the hitting cage. Don't listen to the cheers or the chants, don't let anything or anyone distract you.

You're Mikasa Ackerman. And this field is yours.’

The first game commenced. It was against none other the students of Holst High School, which would be an easy win. Everyone knew that HHS didn't have the best softball reputation, and the team was meager due to no one stepping up and wanting to play softball. It was SHS was leading by 10 runs by the 4th inning, and although softball has 7 innings, the game ended prematurely. This put SHS past the first bracket.

The second bracket was against Rose Wall High School, which also was a win for the SHS varsity girls, however the score was closer than Mikasa would've liked. It was lunch time when their game against RWHS finally finished, and it was an understatement to say she was simply just tired.

Mikasa’s was exhausted, and all her excitement from the first two games was fading. The varsity girls had to stay together and go to lunch, so they chose a mall only 15 minutes away from THS. After they replenished their strength with cheap mall food, they headed back to THS and began prepping for their next game. There was exactly 4 more games to go, one more that day and 3 more on Friday. After that, scores would be calculated up ( for varsity players ) and while the JV girls got to go home on Friday night, the rest would be stuck at THS until Saturday. Mikasa didn't really have any weekend plans, and she was a senior so it wasn't like she had too much homework, but she knew how much her mind would need rest after this taxing week.

But enough of that. She needed to be awake and alert now, more than ever.  
They'd gotten back to THS by 1:30, and their game was in 15 minutes so Mikasa made a decision to lead warmups outside.  
Feeling the sun on her skin calmed her, as together, they did some stretches and agility warm ups. She was a bit confused as to why no one was talking. Their first two games had been amazing! All of a sudden everyone was silent? Not even Ymir was talking.

They walked towards the field and Mikasa caught sight of her friend, and ran up to her.

“Ymir!” She hissed as she grabbed her friend's arm. “Ok what's going on? We dominated the first two games and now all of a sudden everyone's all silent and gloomy? It's like we've been struck by the freakin grim reaper!”

Ymir looked from side to side, before leaning over to Mikasa, her eyes wide. “Please. We’re going against the ReissAca Titans.” Ymir said, exasperation in her voice. “You know they’re practically invisible right?”

“Reiss Academy” Mikasa breathed, dread starting to rush to her mind.

ReissAca… that’s where Annie went! And what are the chances both SHS and ReissAca had the same school mascot? It would be titan vs titan.

“Anyways, look, we’re going to get our asses whooped” Ymir muttered, interrupting her thoughts as they walked to the field. “They’re not going to let us off easy. Everyone in this whole tournament is calling us the ‘Nine Muses’ since so far, we’re literally playing everyone and winning.” her friend paused and grit her teeth. “All the more reason and drive to fuel ReissAca to want to take us down.”

Mikasa suddenly got a pit in her stomach as she remembered the other Captain she’d talked with the other night. That was the same Captain of the ReissAca Softball team. She and Ymir split as all the girls all met up with Coach.

There was 3 minutes until their game with possibly the strongest high school team out there. Mikasa held in her breath as they made it to the field, the crowd already screaming as Coach Smith gave her a thumbs up. Mikasa smiled, but her knees felt unsteady as she made her way to the pitcher’s base.

‘Focus.’ She willed herself, but when she looked up and around to the other 9 girls on the field, their faces looked about as unprepared as she felt.

Shit. Fuck. Shitfuck. They were so, completely, utterly screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright hello!
> 
> Well, this is honestly a bit of a preview of what's to come with Mikasa and Annie. The ship is only going to get more intense from here on out :)
> 
> Also did you guys catch the whole titan vs titan thing ;)
> 
> Comments/Suggestions are always welcome as always!!  
> Thank you for readying 
> 
> \- Solar02  
> 4/20/17 ( also guys HAPPY 4/20 OML )


	9. Unbreakable Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SHS goes up against possibly the strongest team in the state, and Mikasa is tested by her own mind as she faces Petra, the team Captain of ReissAca. But that's not the only challenge she now faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> So sorry for the late update, I've been caught up with school and watching AoT S2 ( and for old time's sake, rewatching season one :) I almost think I need to create a Ymir x Christa story just to make myself feel better :( 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading All In, and as always I don't play softball so if some of the terminology isn't spot on I'm sorry - I'm asking my friend lots of questions and researching, so it shouldn't be terrible.
> 
> Enjoy the MikAnnie that's FINALLY showing up! 
> 
> *More notes at the end

[Moments before] Mikasa felt arms on either side of her touch her shoulders. This was it. Three games in and they were already going against ReissAca, possibly the strongest high school softball team out there. Nerves crept into her mind, but she pushed those the hell down. Or she tried at least.

 

“Ok” she said, trying to amp up her voice so it was full of encouragement. Instead, all she could hear was her own insecurity. “We’re going to do fine.” Lies. “Just play as if we were at home, doing our regular game simulations. You all know the rules. Follow them, and play your best, and after that, there’s nothing we can do. I believe in us. And you should all believe in yourselves.”

 

Mikasa took a deep breath and sighed, relieved when all the varsity girls nodded their heads. But of course, none of them, including Mikasa were convinced. It was already known that even if they did their absolute best, they were going to lose. Mikasa had never directed a team before, and after she’d given them a little pep talk, there was just awkward silence. Oops. They didn’t have a team chant or anything, so after a few painful seconds, they all split up and started getting into positions.

 

[Present]

Mikasa blew her bangs from her face. There was little breeze that day, but somehow she felt as if a cold wind kept hitting her over and over again, as she stared into the eyes of ReissAca’s first hitter. Her feet were firmly planted on the pitcher’s plate, her face flushed with concentration.

 

‘Breathe.’

 

She sucked in her cheeks and began preparing to make her throw. It was fast-pitch softball, which meant that her windup was quicker, she had less time to think.

 

‘Breathe’

 

She dared look at her right and felt the eyes of Coach Smith, Levi, Eren, Christa and Zoe on her. Nothing like a bit of pressure.

 

‘Breathe’

 

The last thing she needed to do before the game commenced. She barely turned her head, her gaze falling on all of the positions, on all of the teammates. 1st, 2nd, 3rd baseman. Shortstop. Left and Right fielder. And lastly…..

Her eyes locked with Annie’s, who surprisingly, was the only teammate who returned her gaze. In fact, the way the catcher’s gaze seemed to burn into Mikasa’s made her think that Annie had been looking at her the whole time.

They were distances apart, and neither could hear each other if they'd said anything but a silent message passed between the two girls at that moment.

 

_‘I'm counting on you.’_

 

A surge of confidence suddenly hitting her, she refocused her mindset on the task ahead of her. Now was her time.

 

‘ _BREATHE_.’

 

She felt as if she was in slow motion, as she drew her hand  forward. One throw, one swift movement. Clean. Precise. Release.

 

The first pitch of the game was almost flawless, it swinging straight at the hitter, who missed it. The ball went straight to Annie, and Mikasa could almost feel Annie’s smirk.

 

The softball was re-tossed back to Mikasa, and this time, she had more confidence. Again, it was a near perfect pitch, and this time the hitter hit the ball. It soared through the sky, but the center field, Sylvia, caught it quickly just as the other team’s player reached first base. There was a roar from the crowd as the RiessAca girl jogged back to home base, looking more than pissed. The second girl came up to the hitter’s plate, and her smile was one that Mikasa wouldn’t forget. It was the unmistakable smile of the girl she’d met yesterday.

 

She turned her head slightly to the scoreboard, and realized the girl’s name was Petra. Even from the pitcher’s base, she could practically see the soft glow radiating from the girl, as she gave mikasa a warm smile. Mikasa couldn’t reciprocate.

But every rose has it’s thorns.

 

That statement only seemed to play true, as immediately after Mikasa pitched, she knew that Petra wasn’t team captain for no reason. This girl was good.

Great even. Tougher than she looked.

The softball soared through the air, and Mikasa almost did a double take as she watched helplessly as her teammates tried to retrieve the ball. One base. Two. And then three.

Her mouth ran dry as she screamed for her teammates, who were trying their hardest, but by the time the softball fell into the hands of Katherine, the 3rd baseman, Petra had managed to make it back to home base, scoring for RiessAca. And the crowd went hysterical.

 

Mikasa couldn’t hear the cheers, the screams, the applause that had suddenly erupted from the stadium as she stood there, not bearing to look at the faces of her team members.

_‘This was inevitable. No! This wasn’t supposed to happen._

_This is the beginning of the end. We’re done for._

_All I can do is watch. I can’t do a thing.’_

 

_‘I’ve given up before the fight even has begun’_

 

Everything around Mikasa blurred as she watched Petra high-five her teammates, her face shining with something other than happiness. Relief? As if ReissAca had to worry about winning this game. It was already known that they were the strongest in the state.

 

The game dragged on and on, for what seemed like forever. Although SHS had an advantage when it came to hitting due to Annie’s agility and Mikasa’s advanced skills, it wasn’t enough. It was the 7th inning, the final inning. The game was at an hour and fifteen minutes. Mikasa was having a hard time focusing as her heart dropped to the soles of her feet. Petra was up to hit of course, and this time, she wasn’t smiling. She was literally preening. There was a way about her though, the way that her expressions weren’t boastful. Petra’s grin was just full of admiration and love for the team. The sport too.

 

Which got the brunette thinking, as she wound up her arm. If the tables were turned, would Mikasa feel like that too? She had no idea. All of her body and mind were put into playing softball, but was her heart as well? Even though she was the one losing right now, she forced herself to make eye contact with the other girl, their eyes meeting and brown met amber.

 

‘I’m happy for you’ Mikasa mouthed, although she knew the girl couldn’t understand her. The only thing between them was distance, and at that moment, Mikasa knew there was no hope. But her team did their best. And she did too.

She was part of the team, just like everyone else.

 

And she was Mikasa Ackerman. She wouldn’t back down without a fight, and neither would her team. Slowly, she felt the burden of winning suddenly lift off her shoulders, and for once, she felt free.

Petra gave her one last smile before that was it.

  


❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

 

The whole stadium was on their feet as the last girl made it to home base. Cheers and chants rang up to the sky, as the ReissAca players gathered in the center, their heads pressed together as they basked in the glory of their victory.

 

The SHS girls on the other hand all slowly walked towards where Coach was standing. He congratulated everyone, but the girl’s faces told it all. They were upset, no doubt.

Mikasa walked over to Levi, who gave her a hug.

 

“You were great out there, ‘Kasa,” he whispered as he tightened her hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

 

“Yeah,” Eren walked up to them and put a hand on Levi’s shoulder. “You guys were great - and hey, so what if you lost this game? You still have two more to go.”

 

Mikasa nodded, exhaustion written all over her face, as she she thanked her brother and his boyfriend. After they’d all gotten together to congratulate each other, the whole team went to shake hands with the ReissAca girls.

Faces passed her, and utters of ‘good game’ were spread thoughtlessly as they walked by each other. But there was only one person Mikasa had interest in talking to.

 

“Hi again” Mikasa said, as she walked up to Petra. The smaller girl beamed and shook her hand firmly. “You were great out there.”

 

“Thank you” Petra replied, her voice dripping with sincerity. Mikasa felt herself starting to smile. “You guys were amazing too.”

Mikasa tried not to sigh, but her face must have shown her doubt and Petra suddenly grabbed her other hand. “I’m serious! Just because you guys didn’t win doesn’t make you any less of a team right?”

 

Mikasa nodded, let her words sink in. _‘We can still make it to State Championships. The battle isn’t over yet.’_

 

She looked into the smaller girl’s eyes, and saw her own reflection within them. She wasn’t the defeated, nervous Mikasa she was before the game. The girl who stared back at her was full of a new heat. Determination. And above all, their first game loss of the season wasn’t going to dampen her mood.

  


It was 6:40 by the time the whole SHS team made it back to the dorms. They’d gone to the tournament managers to pick up their score; 6-16, which ultimately put them in the ‘loser bracket’. However, they still had two more games, and if they managed to win them, they’d still be in. Plus whispers amongst other teams let Mikasa to believe the teams they were going against weren’t super strong.

 

They’d gone out for dinner again, and this time Mikasa didn’t hold herself back from gobbling down the hot, tender steak in front of her. On the bus ride back to THS, Mikasa was about to continue reading Attack on Titan when she felt something tap her shoulder. Turning around, she stared into Levi's eyes.

 

“Hey” her brother said bluntly and Mikasa waited for him to continue. His eyes narrowed and he leaned in so his lips were practically touching her ear. “Wanna crack that bottle open with me and Eren?”

 

The champagne. Of course.

“Levi!” Mikasa hissed and he chuckled.

 

“Remember what I told you ‘Kas? Don't worry about it! Coach Smith is at the end of the hall and last night, I could practically hear him snoring from across the hall!”

 

Mikasa bit her lip. She shouldn't do this, but their next game wasn't until tomorrow afternoon, and they'd just had their first loss. What’d she have to lose?

 

Her dark eyes darted quickly, before she returned the smile. “I'm in”

 

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

 

It was 10:00 when Mikasa tiptoed across the hallways to the boys dorms. Luckily, they were below the girls, so there would be no way Zoe would hear them ‘cracking the bottle’. Although Levi texted her and said Zoe wouldn't be interfering with their party.

 

She reached the door, and took one last glance before she raised her hand and knocked. She didn't even see who let her in, but before she could say ‘uh’ she was whipped into the room, the door shutting behind her.

 

“You're hereeeeeeeeee!” A voice came from across the room, and Mikasa laughed when she saw her brother, holding the bottle and raising it.

 

Mikasa walked in and looked around the room. Her, Levi, Eren, Armin, and wait Ymir? Levi never told her that her best friend would be here. And who was that sitting by the window….

 

“Annie?” Mikasa couldn't believe it. Since when was Annie in their friend group?

 

“Oh sorry ‘Kas” Levi chuckled before the blond could reply. “I invited you after I invited Annie, and only then realized you two practically wanted to rip each others eyes out. Here-” he patted a spot next to him. “-sit down.”

 

Mikasa felt like a kid being told where to sit. She tried not to be hurt that Levi had invited Annie before her, and the way he described them “trying to rip each others eyes out” wasn't true. They were past that right?

 

Uncomfortably, she lowered herself to the ground and avoided looking into Annie’s eyes. Oddly enough, it wasn’t that she was worried Annie would be weirded out - she was always so stoic with that same expression she always wore - but herself. When she finally sat down, she felt the room instantly grow a bit warmer. Or was that her body?

 

“So. Now that Mikasa is here we can start with some real fun!” Eren exclaimed, shoving a bottle of champagne towards Mikasa. She tentatively reached out when a hand grabbed her wrist.

 

“Yeah. But to spice it up a bit, why don’t we play truth or dare?” Ymir said. “But before you T or D someone, you have to take a sip of the champagne first.”

 

“Oooh I like that idea!”

 

“Ok then. You first Eren.”

 

Mikasa watched as her brother’s boy friend grabbed the bottle and eagerly pressed it to his lips, taking a long swig.

 

“Ok…” he wiggled his eyebrows, grinning foolishly. “Ymir! Truth or dare?”

 

“Pfft, no way in hell am I saying dare. Last time you guys made me TP Bertholdt’s house naked at 12 am,” Ymir rolled her eyes at Eren’s snicker. “Truth.”

 

Eren put a finger to his lips and pretended to think. “Have you and Christa done it?”

 

Everyone, including Mikasa laughed as Ymir’s face grew red.

 

“Oh shut up perverts!” the brunette snapped as she reached for the bottle, taking a long drink before setting it back down. “Matter of factly, I have.”

 

Levi smirked and Eren catcalled and Mikasa was highly enjoying the different shades of pink Armin’s face was turning.

 

“Ok now it’s my turn” Ymir said cooly, pushing her hair out from her face. “Levi. Truth or Dare?”

 

“Truth.”

 

“Ugh, ya’lls are no fun….” Ymir grumbled. “Fine. Have you ever cheated on Eren?”

 

Levi’s face remained the same expression.

 

“I did once” Levi finally admitted, sighing. “We’d just started dating, and I don’t know what inspired me to do so, but I kissed Hanji.” Everyone just looked at him. “Zoe.”

 

“Ooooh” Ymir wiggled a finger in front of Levi’s face. “And how did prince charming act when you told him that?”

 

Eren just rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t care less about Hanji. Plus, I have nothing to worry about either, some people say Haji might be a lezzie.” he leaned over and suddenly grabbed Levi’s face, pulling the smaller guy closer and pressing his lips over his. “Besides. I’m the only one in Levi’s heart.”

 

“He’s not wrong” Levi shrugged, taking a sip from the bottle. “Speaking of lezzies….Annie T or D?”

 

Annie hadn’t really said much since they’d started the game and Mikasa almost forgot she was sitting right next to her. And had Levi just called the catcher a lezzie?

 

“Truth.” Annie said simply and Ymir griped about how no one was picking dares. The rest of the room focused their attention to the smaller girl as Levi took his time picking a question.

 

“Ok.” He said finally, passing the bottle to her. “This isn’t really a truth, but more of a question. You’re gay right?”

 

Mikasa stiffened.

 

“Yes.” Annie replied, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Is that all?”

 

Levi frowned, but nodded. “Alright then” he chuckled, taking another sip from the bottle. “So I guess the only straight people here are Armin and Mikasa.”

 

Mikasa felt her face warming as laughter filled the room.

 

“T or D Armin?” Eren suddenly asked, and the smaller guy picked truth ( poor Ymir ). He took a long sip from the bottle. “Hmm. Have you ever had a crush on anyone in this room?”

 

“E-Eren!” Armin stammered, his face red. “I don’t...I can’t…”

 

“Let’s not ask Armin that question here” Levi hissed at Eren, before turning back to Armin. “Armin I dare you to kiss Ymir”

 

Ymir rolled her eyes, and Armin looked mortified. Everyone laughed as the two friends awkwardly pecked each other on the lips, and when they broke apart Armin was as bright as a tomato and Ymir was practically hysterical.

  
“Didn’t think I’d ever have to kiss a guy again” she snorted, wiping her hand over her mouth. “Sorry Armin. Also fuck you Ackerman, Christa will be jealous”

 

“Christa isn’t here-”

 

“Don’t miss the point!!”

 

“Hey guys hold up, ‘Kasa still has to go!” Mikasa suddenly felt a cool bottle passed into her arms. She had no idea what it was, but whatever it was, it was certainly getting her friends drunk.

 

“Oh sorry ‘Kas” Ymir chuckled as she grabbed a pillow from one of the beds to prop herself up against. “Truth or Dare? I triple dare you to pick dare” Mikasa rolled her eyes and sighed.

 

“Fine,” she gave in, taking a heavy sip from the bottle. It was bitter on her tongue, but she felt herself loosening up with every gulp. “Hit me up.”

 

There was a dramatic pause before Ymir muttered, “Dammit someone finally chooses dare and I forgot what I was gonna say”

 

“Ooh I got a good one!” Levi said suddenly. “Since you two are such great friends, I dare ya to kiss Annie”

 

That jolted Mikasa to reality. “What?!” she rejected immediately and Levi raised his arms in defense.

 

“Aww Levi good idea” Ymir chuckled, much to Mikasa’s disgust. First her brother and now her best friend.

 

She dared look at Annie who was oddly calm, with the same expression she always wore. Except this time the bright blue orbs were staring into her, and they were filled with challenge.

Of course. Mikasa was the one who got herself into this by choosing dare from Ymir. If she backed out now it would make her look childish, or even worse people would think that she actually _wanted_ to kiss the catcher but was too embarrassed to in front of a crowd.

There was no good option for her.

 

“You guys suck” she muttered, and she scooted over towards the blonde, hating how all this sudden pressure was making her heart race. Around her, her friends were laughing and still drinking which was good because Mikasa was scared that if the room suddenly fell silent, her friends would hear her heart beating rapidly. This was her first kiss for christ’s sake.

 

Annie made no effort to move towards Mikasa, just sat there quietly studying her face which made her even more uncomfortable. They were finally so close that their knees were touching, and Mikasa nervously glanced at her hands, refusing to look at Annie.

 

 _‘It doesn’t mean anything!’_ she repeated over and over. _‘My first kiss will be with a girl but…’_

 

Suddenly she felt cool hands grab her face, and something soft touch her lips. Mikasa’s body exploded.

 

What was happening? Why was her heart pounding like crazy? She was frozen, but for once she didn’t try to move. She willed herself to back away, but she was grounded in place. And she just let it happen.

 

Annie’s lips were not what she imagined the cold, hardened girl’s to be like. They were soft, and delicate, and Mikasa swore she could feel warmth radiating from the smaller girl. Annie’s hands had dropped and now were on hers, refusing to let go. And Mikasa didn’t want to.

 

But just as quickly as it had escalated, soon Annie was pulling away, letting her hands drop back into her lap.

 

 _‘Woah_.’

 

Mikasa just sat there, the feeling of Annie’s lips on hers just seconds ago still lingering. She knew her face was warm, and prayed that it wasn’t bright red, but as she pressed her hand to her cheek she realized it probably was.

 

“Hello? Helloooooo? Earth to Mee kaa saaa” Eren waved his arms in front of her, and Mikasa willed herself to come back down to Earth. “How was it?” he smirked. “You two looked pretty serious. Almost like a couple - ow, what the fuck Levi?”

 

Mikasa couldn’t move as her friends just continued to laugh and joke around as if nothing had happened, while she sat there, her head spinning with confusion. What  _had_ happened? Levi was right, wasn’t he? She was straight. Of course she was. She had to be.

 

So why was her face flushed and her heart beating so fast? It must be the champagne. It had to be. Tomorrow she’d be back to normal, and all these weird feelings would be gone.

  
  
  


It was 2 A.M when they all left Levi and Eren’s room and headed towards their own. Ymir waved goodbye, and Armin walked down the halls, giving Mikasa a longing look before disappearing into his own dorm.

Leaving Mikasa and Annie to walk together.

 

The brunette willed herself not to walk side by side with the blond girl, for after her strange experience that night, the last thing she wanted to do was be near Annie.

Questions rattled her brain relentlessly, and as the silence droned on, the more Mikasa realized she was furious at Annie.

How dare she just continue walking ahead, as if that night never had happened, while Mikasa trailed behind with her mind eating her alive?

Her anger started to bubble to the surface.

 

“Annie” she muttered darkly. She didn’t reply. “Annie goddamit!”

Mikasa didn’t know what she was doing, but suddenly she felt her left hand pushed against the dorm’s door and her fist daringly close to the smaller girl’s neck, cornering the catcher.  “What was that all about?”

 

Cool orbs of blue shone back into her own eyes, surprising Mikasa because the hallway was barely lit. She felt herself getting lost in the catcher’s eyes again, her rage slightly slipping. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

But god, this girl was annoying. “You very well do” Mikasa growled, and suddenly she felt a hand on her own shirt, drawing her closer until their faces were inches apart.

 

“I’m just playing with you” Annie stated, matter of factly, her eyes narrowing. “You got all flustered from that kiss didn’t you?”

 

The kiss. Mikasa swallowed.

 

“Well let me tell you something.” Annie dropped Mikasa’s shirt, her bangs falling in front of her eyes. “It meant nothing.”

  
The smaller girl whipped around and opened the dorm door, letting it shut behind her in Mikasa’s face. And Mikasa didn’t try to open it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The infamous face pull xD
> 
> Anyways I just wanted to say YES they kiss!! Hurrayyyyy!  
> Too bad Annie doesn't seem to think it meant anything :( That would be too perfect.
> 
> I'll try to update it again soon, since I want this 'first game' arc to be over xD 
> 
> Comments are always welcome!  
> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> \- Solar02  
> (5/7/17)


	10. Bitter Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Annie's PoV]  
> CHAPTER 9.5  
> Annie has always struggled with self-worth due to her upbringing as a child. How is she supposed to love, when she's afraid the world will hurt her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> This is the ONLY chapter that will ever be in Annie's PoV [ which is why it's chapter 9.5].  
> I left a lot unsaid in chapter 9, and considering it was a big turning point, I figured I'd need to explain her story somehow. It was going to only be 1,000 words or so, but after I'd written everything down I realized how off that was. It's around 5,000 words :') 
> 
> I was also planning on updating this weekly but I was so eager to put this out, I waited 3 whole days.
> 
> Thank you for reading All In 
> 
> *More notes at the end

_ It was her final day of 8th grade, and Annie was sitting at her desk, staring out the window. Today would be the day.  _

_ She was going to tell her parents everything. How she was going to quit piano lessons once and for all, how she was going to join the softball team next year no matter what they said, how she had no interest in boys.  _

_ Everything that she’d kept hidden away for so long was finally going to come out. All the secrets, and the guilt and the shame that had eaten her alive for the past several months would finally go away. She’d finally be free.  _

 

_ Hours ticked by, final good byes from teachers and yearbook signing taking place just as Annie was about to leave school. No one ever noticed her slinking off campus while school was still going on, so why would today be any different? She was about to reach the back doors successfully when she felt a finger tap her shoulder, and she whipped around, blue eyes flashing.  _

 

_ “Where do ya think you’re going?” Annie sighed, and pushed her hair out of her eyes.  _

 

_ “What do you want Reiner?” she glared at him, and he scowled back.  _

 

_ “Slacking off like usual I see. Don’t think it doesn’t go unnoticed.” _

 

‘I don’t have time for this!’ 

_ “So admit it. You're fucking spying on me”  Annie said bluntly as she reached for the door but something wasn’t right. She heard a quick scuffle of the floor, and realized what was coming before it even happened.  _

 

_ “Why would I ever spy on a monster” Reiner growled, his voice dangerously low. “I see the way you look at girls. Makes me sick. Girls like you need to be taught a lesson”  _

 

_ Annie clenched her fist. His words cut into her like a knife, but she willed her mind to focus because suddenly Reiner was lunging at her, trying to pry her hand off the door handle. But Annie already knew his plan.  _

_ Reiner was big, and he plunged straight towards her, not bothering to think about his speed and the consequences going straight on would cost.  _

_ She spun on her heels, her footing barely touching the ground.  _

 

_ “Stupid” she muttered, as Reiner’s body slowly slipped past her, crashing into the door. But she wasn’t going to let him off easy. Before he could hit the door frame, she slipped her leg under Reiner’s which made him lose his balance. He fell on his hands and knees. _

 

_ “S-shit” Reiner muttered as he tried to stand. On wobbly knees, he glared into her eyes, but Annie wasn’t fazed. “You went for the legs.” _

 

_ “Are we done here?” Annie interrupted.  _

 

_ “That was a dirty move” he muttered. Annie didn’t respond, and walked past him, her hands pushing the doors in front of her and letting them close as she stepped outside, leaving Reiner to curse after her on the ground.  _

  
  


❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

 

_ When she got home, the house was empty as usual. Or so it appeared to be. Annie knew damned well that her stepmother was probably somewhere in the house, weather that be downstairs ‘working out’ or lounging on the pool deck getting a suntan. Her father was really who she wanted to talk to.  _

 

_ The night dwindled away from her, and soon it was 7:00. Slowly, Annie walked downstairs. The hallway was dimly lit, but when she entered the kitchen, there was a burst of light that made her eyes hurt. Eva was already sitting at the table, and didn’t even notice Annie slip into the kitchen.  _

 

_ “Hey” she said, sliding into a chair. She stared at her hands, willing them not to shake. “Is dad home? There’s something I need to tell you two...” _

 

_ Her stepmother ignored her presence. “Oh there you are Annie” Eva said, not looking up from her phone. “You’re dad will be joining us in 30 minutes, but I’m famished, so we’ll just start without him.” _

_ Annie’s heart sank. Her plans of finally sitting down and having a real conversation with her parents were slipping away. But instead of arguing, she kept her mouth shut.  _

 

_ The food in front of her tasted bland, even though it was world class seafood that Eva had prepared. The two ate in silence, and Annie ate slowly, taking her time chewing each piece of food carefully.  _

_ If she was going to tell her parents, she wanted them both to be in the same room.  _

 

_ But time slipped away, and soon it was 8:00. Eva made Annie clean the dishes, while she went and painted her nails. Annie was full of resentment, but didn’t dare say anything.  _

 

‘Just a little bit longer’  _ she told herself determinedly.  _ ‘Papa will be home any minute now.’

.

_ She told herself this over and over again, but soon it was 8:30. And then 8:45, and then 9:20.  _

 

_ “Annie” Eva murmured from the couch. “It’s your bedtime soon isn’t it?” _

 

_ Annie didn’t say anything, her attention focused on the driveway. Any minute now, and he’d be home. He’d walk through those doors, and he’d pick her up, and kiss her.  _

_ And he’d listen to her, and he’d accept her, and he’d smile at her and tell her he’d love her no matter what.  _

 

_ “Annie!” Eva snapped. “Are you listening-” _

 

_ “He’s back!” Annie interrupted. Her face lit up as she saw her father’s mini van pull into the driveway. Her heart lifted with excitement as she watched him climb out of the car. She opened the door and ran out to greet her father when she stopped in her tracks. Something was very wrong.  _

 

‘He’s drunk.’ 

 

_ Pulling back in disgust, Annie didn’t even bother to reply when he called her name. She stomped back into the house, tears welling in her eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen.  _

 

_ “I swear to god - oh you’re home.”  _

 

_ Annie turned around, not wanting to see her drunk father kiss Eva. Her plans she’d had for the evening had been shattered. She just wanted to sit down with her father and explain to her everything that was bothering her, but now he was drunk, and there was no way that was ever going to happen that night. She was about to walk up the stairs and call it a night when something inside her stopped her. She swore to herself she’d do this. This was the moment she’d been waiting for for the past 14 months.  _

‘Breathe, Annie’  _ she thought to herself, trying to steady her pounding heart. _

_ Slowly, she walked back down the stairs, and into the living room where her father and Eva were sitting in eachother’s arms.  _

_ She tried not to gag.  _

 

_ They were watching TV when she walked into the living room, and the first thing she did was reach for the remote. Her finger quickly pressed down the off button.  _

 

_ “Annie! I thought you were in bed” Eva said immediately, annoyance sparking in her voice. She stood up, but Annie wasn’t going to let her dominate her. Not now of all times. _

 

_ “I’m here, because I need to tell you something” she glowered, ignoring the daggers Eva was sending her way. “I was trying to tell you earlier but you couldn’t get off your damn phone. And I don’t want to even know where you were” her gaze swung to her father.  _

 

_ Eva’s eyes narrowed. “So what is it?”  _

 

_ Annie took a breath. She’d prepared what she was going to say months ago, but now, when it was finally time, she was having trouble collecting the words to speak.  _

 

_ “I’m gay.”  _

 

_ Silence filled the room, and Annie clenched her fists as she let it hang in the air. She stared at her feet.  _

_ All of the guilt and shame were supposed to leave her with those two words. She’d finally done it. It wasn’t exactly how she’d planned but it was out now.  _

 

‘It wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t hard at all-’

 

_ Annie suddenly cried in pain as nails dug into her scalp, and tears sprung to her eyes as her body was suddenly shoved forward with hardening force.  _

_ Her clothes were scrunched up in the front as a fist wrapped around the collar of her shirt, and she struggle to blink with pain surrounding her head.  _

 

_ “What do you mean, ‘you’re gay?’ No daughter of mine is a filthy faggot” a voice hissed in her ear. Tears, not from the pain suddenly starting falling from Annie’s eyes. _

_ She tried to wriggle free, but the grip was too strong. She strained to glare into Eva’s eyes, and when she did, fire met ice.  _

 

_ “You can’t call me that” she spat back, only to bit her cheek to keep from screaming as her hair was pulled again, this time more violent than the first time.  _

 

_ “Your father and I didn’t raise a dyke.” Eva leaned in so their faces were almost touching. Rage suddenly consumed Annie. She felt herself transforming into someone new, one who was done with the bullshit people were telling her. She felt her heart harden, and her mind turn off as she surrounded herself with hatred.  _

 

_ “You’re not even my mother” Annie seethed darkly. She dared give one last defiant glare at Eva. “You’re just some mother-fucking manipulative bitch who decided to take her stuck up ass and pretend to love my father. The only thing you’ve ever done to raise me is make me hate you.”  _

 

_ She let the words hang in the room, waiting for the next blow. The truth was out now.  _

_ “Girls like you don’t deserve love! All you people do is corrupt others and ruin their lives!” Eva shrieked and lunged for her, but Annie was prepared this time. Using her legs, she swept them under Eva’s feet until she was on the ground, trying to scramble to stand up again but Annie wouldn’t let her.  _

_ She’d hurt her. Been rejected. And now it was time to inflict hurt on others.  _

  
  


_ Everything happened at once, Annie letting herself go loose as she let her rage run wild. It was weird however, it was like it wasn’t her. She could hear herself saying things, but she didn’t feel like she was the one saying them. She felt like she was watching a stronger, bolder version of herself confront her stepmother, while the real her was frozen in her mind. Almost like she was sleeping, and the visions she was seeing was a nightmare instead of reality. She closed her eyes, and for a strange moment, everything was calm. She blinked once, and realized that she was in fact not in her house. In front of her, stood her stepmother, glaring straight at her, when Annie realized something. She was looking through her own eyes. She felt her body surge forward, and she shut her eyes as she felt her outside self get slapped across the cheek with sickening force. There would for sure be a bruise tomorrow. If she made it to tomorrow.  _

 

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen’ _ she cried out desperately, but no one seemed to hear her.  _

_ She was trapped inside her mind but she didn’t try to fight it. Everything around her was crumbling apart. Her esteem, her confidence, her trust shattering as she watched herself from her own eyes lash out at her parents.  _

_ She couldn’t do this, couldn’t bare to watch herself get hurt by her stepmother any longer. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, and shut her eyes praying that this night had never happened. Wishing she’d just kept her mouth shut, wishing she could turn back time.  _

_ This was what ran through her head as she kept her eyes squeezed shut, her arms firmly planted around her. And she started to weave an illusion within her mind.  _

 

_ The stronger Annie on the outside would protect her. She would be safe, and wouldn’t be hurt as long as the tough Annie continued to fight for her. If she sealed herself off from the world, no one would ever be able to hurt her again.  _

_ In her mind, she imagined herself being surrounded by happy thoughts. Her father, her _ real  _ father, when he wasn’t drunk, with his hands on her shoulders. Her mother, alive and well, kissing her on the cheek and whispering ‘I love you.’ Both of her parents accepting her, and loving her for who was.  _

 

_ She felt the illusion begin to wrap itself around her, and the more she dreamed of all the things that made her happy, the stronger the illusion seemed to grow. As the final parts of her fantasy faded away, she felt walls inclose around her, and she opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded by all of these thoughts. She could no longer see the horrors going on around her.  Smiling faces, and images of her parents danced before her eyes, and she reached out to touch them but she realized she couldn’t. She strained to keep her eyelids from falling closed, but the urge to sleep was suddenly overwhelming and was getting harder and harder to fight.  _

_ One last image floated before her eyes, and Annie felt something warm touch fall on her cheek. Tears spilled from her eyes, as she stared into her own eyes, who were smiling back at her. Her father and mother were standing behind her, and smiling at her as well.  _

 

‘I love you.’ 

 

_ A final tear fell from her eye, as Annie felt herself smile. The final piece of the illusion was complete.  _

_ She felt her face being covered over by something warm, and realized she was inside a crystal that she had created, woven with only happy thoughts and fragments of her memory.  _

_ Sighing, Annie closed her eyes, and let herself drift into a deep slumber.  _

 

✧✧✧✧✧✧ ~  ☆ ~ ✧✧✧✧✧✧ 

  
  


Annie watched the people in the room laugh around her. They were so carefree, sitting together and enjoying themselves. When Levi had invited her to ‘crack a bottle’ with him and Eren, Annie hadn’t expected a whole group of people to show up. 

Surveying the room, she could already guess the person’s personality by first glance. There was Armin, who was shy and easily flustered. Annie didn’t exactly know how Levi had convinced Coach Smith to let two of his friends accompany them to the tournament, but they were here nonetheless.

She’d always been a loner, so she wasn’t used to seeing groups of friends so close together before. It was strange. But not unpleasant. 

 

Then there was Ymir, who seemed like the loud, pushy type, although it wasn’t obnoxious. More like it was just her personality, and her friends loved her for it. Annie could respect Ymir. She was obviously a good softball player, and was very open about her relationship with Christa ( to her friends anyway ). And above all, seemed like she deeply cared for her friends, and would be willing to stand by them no matter what. Annie felt her face fall a bit, as she wondered if anyone would ever do that for her. 

 

Then of course, there was Eren and Levi. The two were an odd couple, as Eren was hotheaded at times, and Levi’s coolness seemed to save the both of them. But at times like now, it was Levi who was letting loose and Eren who was keeping his head. Although they could argue at times, Annie could tell by looking into their eyes that the love they held for each other was genuine. 

 

And the last person...Mikasa. Annie couldn’t really figure Mikasa out. The two were similar in some ways, as Mikasa didn’t seem like the one to just open herself up to anyone like Ymir or Eren would. She seemed reserved, especially around her. Plus, Mikasa was an amazing softball player. 

 

“ Ooh I got a good one!” Levi said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. She’d been trying to figure people out, that she’d forgotten they were in the middle of playing truth or dare. “Since you two are such great friends, I dare ya to kiss Annie” 

 

Annie almost smirked as she swore she felt Mikasa’s whole body tense up next to her. 

 

“What?” The brunette said almost immediately, and Ymir laughed, her friends taking this time to joke at Mikasa playfully. Annie couldn’t care less if they kissed, because at the end of the day it wouldn’t matter anyways. Love was stupid. She knew better than to let useless emotions enter her head, because it would only hurt her. She stared into Mikasa’s eyes and made her face remain expressionless. 

 

Mikasa’s face was twisted into something that Annie had never seen on the brunette’s face before. It was filled with an emotion the smaller girl couldn’t quite put a finger on, but judging from the body language Mikasa was sending off, she guessed the brunette was nervous. Mikasa muttered something under her breath, as she moved closer towards Annie, who made no effort to reciprocate. Annie was finding Mikasa’s dark eyes far too interesting. She could usually read people like an open book, but Mikasa Ackerman was certainly not making it easy for her. 

A challenge. Curious.

 

Mikasa finally was close enough for the two girls to touch knees, and Annie waited for the brunette to make a move. Instead she stared at her hands. 

 

Annie waited a few more seconds and sighed in exasperation. If there was one thing she hated, it was waiting. 

 

Impatience taking over her, she placed her hands on Mikasa’s face and pulled her mouth towards hers, taking the brunettes moment of vulnerability as a chance to plant her lips onto hers.

 

Mikasa had just taken a sip from the bottle, so it was no surprise when Annie tasted the slightly bitter taste of champagne on her lips. But aside from that, there was another taste, hidden behind the bold one from the drink. Cherry? No, too sweet. Annie settled on strawberry, and realized that she'd been so caught up in trying to distinguish the flavor of Mikasa’s lips, that she'd let the kiss go for too long. 

 

She dropped her hands, but she felt Mikasa's clasp around hers, like she didn't want it to end.

 

_ ‘STOP’ _ Annie's mind screamed, and just like that it was over. Annie ripped herself away from the brunette, her mind ringing from the command that had shaken her back to reality. What was she doing? 

 

Mikasa looked equally as confused, if not more, and didn't say anything for a good couple of minutes until Levi waved his hands in front of her. 

 

The room burst out with laughter, and Eren remarked something about them acting like ‘a couple’ before Levi silenced them. 

But Annie wasn't listening. 

_ What are you doing, Annie Leonhart? Did your body miss physical contact so much that you got lost in a kiss? This is the exact kind of shit that leaves you miserable every single time. _

  
  


_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

Mikasa was silent as the two walked back to their dorm. They’d left Levi and Eren’s dorm at around 2 A.M, and Annie just figured she was spent. Although she’d never let it show, she was pretty exhausted herself, and was dreading crawling into the cold dorm beds again. 

They were about to reach the door when Mikasa uttered her name. 

 

“Annie.”

 

She didn’t respond. 

 

“Annie goddamit!” 

 

Annie gasped as she felt her shoulder get slammed against the hard wooden door, but quickly recovered, her eyes trying to adjust on Mikasa through the darkness. 

 

“What was that all about?” Mikasa demanded, and suddenly Annie realized what was going on. Confusion and fear were written all over Mikasa’s face. She took this time to study the brunette’s face again, searching for any more clues that would lead her to what was going on inside her head. But like always, Mikasa seemed to have a barrier around her that Annie couldn’t break. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Annie replied simply, although she had a sinking feeling she did. 

 

“You very well do” Mikasa countered, and Annie bit the inside of her cheek. 

 

_ ‘Look what you’ve done now.’  _

 

She grabbed the front of Mikasa’s shirt, needing some release. She brought their faces inches apart, trying not to flinch as she smelled the faint strawberry scent again. 

 

_ ‘Look what you’ve done. You’ve corrupted someone.’ _ She laughed to herself, letting the cruel truth sink in. ‘ _ You really are a monster.’ _

 

“I’m just playing with you” Annie said darkly, trying to make her eyes as cold as she possibly could. But she knew what was really going on. She was just what Eva had told her she was. A selfish girl who destroyed other people’s lives for the sake of her own. Annie bit her cheek again, this time tasting the metallic taste of blood. 

 

_ ‘I won’t do that to Mikasa.’  _

 

“You got flustered by that kiss didn’t you?” She dared to ask, and when Mikasa visibly swallowed, it only proved Annie’s guess correct. Her heart sank. What kind of person was she? Going around and kissing whoever, and then to have them react like this…. She’d been so caught up in protecting herself she’d forgotten there were other people in this world too. 

 

This was her fault. Everything was her fault. 

_ ‘Girls like you don’t deserve happiness.’  _

 

Annie felt her eyes water up. She needed to get away from here, now. 

“I’m just playing with you” she said bitterly, letting her hair fall in front of her eyes so the brunette couldn’t see her. She needed Mikasa to be strong. She needed her to believe her, and leave her alone so she wouldn’t feel guilty. 

 

_ ‘There you go again Annie. All about yourself. You selfish bitch.’ _

 

With the coldest voice she could muster, Annie said, “It meant nothing.”

 

She didn’t want to say any more, and she turned around and opened the door, not bothering to hold it open as it shut behind her. She waited for a few minutes, and when it was clear the brunette wasn’t going to try to enter, Annie let herself sink to her bed, not minding that her bare knees were touching the ice cold floors. Her whole body was shaking, but she felt as if she was numb to the coldness, as bitterness filled her body. She hated herself. So, goddamn much. Annie undid her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders and placed her head in her hands. 

And she cried. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~
> 
> I hope the whole past/present thing wasn't too confusing ( it shouldn't be ).  
> This is probably one of my favorite chapters in the story so far, because Annie is my favorite character ( I don't care what people say about her ). I also wanted to make it clear that Annie isn't against Mikasa or anything, but rather is trying to protect Mikasa from herself, and feels guilty for making her 'like this'. 
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading this chapter. Comments are always welcome :)  
> Solar02 (5/11/17)
> 
> P.S if you trust my music judgement, I was listening to Youth by Daughter while writing this, so I'm going to suggest you listen to it :)


	11. Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa is struggling in a realm of confusion, every move she tries to take towards the problem halted due to her own insecurities. When someone special to her offers her support, how will she react? Can they help her get past her fear of rejection, or is she destined to repeat the past?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> So this is a little inside look of Mikasa's past, since I did Annie's recently. I'm not giving anything away, but you've got a lot coming for you in upcoming chapters so PREPARE YOURSELVES. ( Yes, I'm going to keep dragging you along with this story ) 
> 
> Well, that's all I have to say, other than thank you so much for all the kind comments. It can be hard to write sometimes, but I love reading what everyone has to say and it helps me stay motivated to continue this story. 
> 
> As always I hope you enjoy All In!
> 
> * More notes at the end

A full whole week had passed since SHS’s first tournament at Trost High School, and although they’d managed to win their past two games, they were still on the edge. Another tournament would be held in a few weeks, this one at SHS. It was still weeks out, but Mikasa was determined that this time, they would be successful. 

The whole team seemed to have been reborn with a new energy, and together, they were progressing their strength stronger than ever. 

 

Every inch of Mikasa’s body had been sore on the painful trip back, but that wasn’t what was keeping her from having trouble thinking straight. There was only one reason and Mikasa knew exactly what is was.

 

_ Annie Leonhart.  _

 

The brunette couldn’t put it into words, but whenever she let the image of the smaller girl sink into her thoughts, she’d get a serious headache. What was going on? More importantly, how did that one kiss change everything? Had she always seen her like that? Was she really…..gay? 

One thing was for sure, Annie had clearly stated the kiss meant nothing. 

 

Mikasa threw her head into her pillow and screamed, her voice muffled.  For the past days at practice that was all she could think about whenever she saw Annie. Not that she saw her often. Annie had been avoiding her like the plague which made no sense what so ever - she was the one who’d made the first move! 

What was with her? She was an anti-social, rude, annoying girl with a hot body, sexy lips, and the prettiest blue eyes Mikasa had ever-

 

“‘Kas!” Levi’s voice interrupted her thoughts, jolting her back to reality.  _ Oh my god. _ Mikasa felt her face flame. Bless Levi for stopping her ‘wild imagination’ there. “Ymir is here!”

 

_ Right. Ymir. Their study session. _

 

“Let her in,” Mikasa yelled back, and she heard Levi grunt. Minutes later, she and Ymir were sitting cross legged on Mikasa’s bed. 

 

“English sucks” Ymir mumbled as Mikasa corrected a third error in the first paragraph. “I don’t need this crap anyways.”

 

“Don’t say that” Mikasa snapped in response, half jokingly. While her friend was beyond smart in physics and psychology, she was less than perfect in literate arts. “C’mon. Ten more minutes and we can take a break.” 

 

Ymir groaned in response but agreed. Once Mikasa had finished Ymir’s essay, she went downstairs to grab them water only to come up to find Ymir scrolling through her phone. 

 

“Ymir!” 

 

“Sorry sorry!” Her friend chuckled as she set down her phone. Mikasa laughed too as she lowered herself to the floor, handing Ymir a glass of ice water. Then her friend something that made her blood run cold. “So….Annie huh?”

 

Mikasa instantly stopped smiling. “Excuse me?”

 

“Don’t play dumb ‘Kas. You may be able to fool the world but you ain’t fooling me”

 

She started to panic. This wasn't supposed to turn up so soon. “You looked through my phone,” she accused, her eyes flying over to her phone and then back at her friend.

 

“And  _ you _ are clearly a stalker.” Ymir pointed out, raising her eyebrows for maximum effect. “Jesus ‘Kas, Annie is your top searched-”

 

“Don’t say it!” Mikasa interrupted. She didn’t want to hear it. It was already enough she felt weird around Annie, and the last thing she wanted was Ymir to spill the beans to all their friends. Plus, Annie was potentially in their friend group now. Which made anything more complicated. “I don’t like Annie,” she said uncomfortably, but it was obvious. There was no way getting around this one, and Mikasa felt her heart sinking to her feet. Ymir could see right through her like always.

 

“Keep telling yourself that kiddo” Ymir said finally. “All I can say is hiding in the closet won’t do you any good.”

 

“I’m not in-”

 

“I see the way you look at her” Ymir sighed and leaned on her forearms. “Even if everyone else doesn’t” she reassured after Mikasa’s face went pale. “Listen kid. I won’t do or say anything to anyone about this, but trust me I’ve been there ok? Life is a freakin’ scary place, and if you ever need to talk about it...” Ymir looked up, their eyes meeting. Sincerity written all over her face, and Mikasa felt her hard exterior breaking. Ymir didn't have to say any more as Mikasa leaned on her friend, letting her body weight shift completely onto Ymir’s. 

 

She was right. Mikasa was scared shirtless, confused, and fearful of what was happening to her, but knowing Ymir was there for her made her feel safe. 

  
  
  


_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

It was Monday, and Mikasa had just gotten back from after school hitting and  and was going to her gym locker when she realized she'd gotten dirt all over her pants. Muttering in disgust, she walked towards the girls bathroom and eased out of them, turning both ways to make sure no one was there. It was 5:30. Surely everyone would have left school by now. 

 

“What a pain” she muttered as she stood there, trying to scrub off stubborn dirt that didn’t seem like wanting to move. She grabbed some soap and to her relief, the dark stains started fading. She was almost done when suddenly she heard a subtle movement. 

_ What the hell _ ?

 

Some girl was probably still there like her, so she wasn’t too concerned until she turned around. Annie was standing in front of her in nothing but a towel, and was now staring back at Mikasa. Water dripped from her hair and Mikasa realized she must've stayed after school and showered. 

_ We must have a thing for seeing each other in towels, _ Mikasa thought, but that was the last thing on her mind. She felt her face warm as Annie stormed past her without a word. 

_ Wait. She was getting away. _

 

“Annie” Mikasa called after her. When the blonde ignored her Mikasa glowered. She left the sink ( including her pants ) and followed after the smaller girl, only her panties covering her lower half. “Why are you ignoring me?” Mikasa snapped angrily as Annie tried to open her locker. Mikasa put a firm hand over it. Annie still wasn't looking at her, just burning holes into the locker. “Annie-”

 

“Could you please stop?” Annie said finally. She glared up at Mikasa and she forced herself not to look intimidated from the smaller girl’s sudden outbreak. “Look, it would be better us if you stay away from me. Forget I exist. I won't talk to you, and you do the same for me ok?” Mikasa felt like she'd just been slapped. “Please. Move.” Annie uttered. 

 

Mikasa did, and she watched as Annie gathered her clothes and disappeared back into the bathroom. Even though Mikasa had left her pants back there, she refused to venture back in there in fear of running into….her. Goosebumps dotted her bare thighs, and after she was sure Annie was gone, she went in and grabbed her still mud stained pants.

  
  


She drove home in silence. No music, no radio just silence.  _ What was happening?  _

Annie was never one to be super clingy, but pushing her away like that was… Mikasa hated it. She hated feeling rejected by people. She also felt almost sad? Not that she was completely emotionless, but she was always known for being cold - clearly nowhere near as cold as Annie - and suddenly when the smaller girl showed up it was as if roles had been reversed. Suddenly it was Mikasa who was begging Annie to talk to her. 

 

When Mikasa got home the lights were off, and as she made her way to her room, she stopped by Levi’s door only to sigh as she saw light from other his door. She heard laughter, and realized that Eren was there too. Deciding not to bother the two lovers, she moved closer to her room only to stop at the front of her door. She didn’t feel like being inside either. Making up her mind, she turned around and headed towards the roof patio. 

 

Mikasa stepped outside and let the chilly air blow through her hair. She stared out into the dark abyss, watching as lights from Shiganshina flickered about, casting haunty shadows in the sky. Mikasa had the urge to grab her camera, when a sudden light shining from above stopped her. It had been cloudy almost all day, but at that moment, it was as if the moon had decided to break through the clouds and shine it’s face over Shiganshina City. Mikasa took it in. 

 

With the moon’s light over her, she felt herself sink to the floor, holding her hands close to herself. Thoughts swirled in her mind as she gazed up at the moon. How was something so magnificent shielded by the clouds? Mikasa chuckled as she blew her hair out of her face. Her mind was filled with confusion, shrouded by all the events in the past week. 

And the fact that prom was coming up wasn’t going to help anything. No one but Ymir knew about her current state of mind, and the thought of Eren or worse, Levi nagging her to find a date was something she was absolutely dreading. She wouldn’t go. She hadn’t gone during any of her high school years but so be it; at this point, she’d never date anyone in her life. 

 

Sighing, Mikasa put her head in her hands, her body facing towards the moon. It was quite beautiful really. It was as if, after being covered by clouds for such a long time it was finally breaking free and shining like it was meant to. 

Mikasa basked in the moonlight, her gaze settling on the starry sky as she let her mind leave her body and float to the dream world. 

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

_ It was tryout day for the SHS Softball Team, and Mikasa’s blood was boiling.  _

Stupid stupid _! She screamed in her head. This was it, this was her moment, and all she’d heard since the very first day of school is ‘Oh, you’re Levi’s sister aren’t you?’ and ‘Wow. The Ackerman family sure is famous’. Countless amounts of people came up to her to introduce themselves as Levi's friends, even though it was only a few days after they'd both started high school. Just because Levi was 15 minutes older than her shouldn't mean he was better than her. Although somehow, that always seemed to be the case.  _

 

Why can’t people just stop seeing me as Levi’s stupid shadow? Why can’t I be my own person?  _ Mikasa wanted to scream, but of course no one would listen to her. She was always supposed to be the quiet one.  _

 

_ It was Freshman year, and this moment was something Mikasa had been waiting for all year. It was her chance! To finally prove to the world she was her own self, with her own talent. Not some cheap, long forgotten copy of Levi Ackerman.  _

_ She’d spent all last year doing track, but that one day when she saw a softball game played on TV, she just knew. This was the sport that had been calling her all her life.  _

 

_ That was where the dream had begun; and now, it was time for her to make that dream come true. Mikasa had been told all her life she was good at anything physical which should make her proud. But of course, nothing she did could outstand the high accomplishments of her brother, Levi. She loved him, but being older than her ( by 15 minutes), he always seemed to have the upper hand no matter what she did. He was the captain of the boy’s J.V volleyball team, and excelled in just about anything one put in front of him. Not to mention he was...quite the heartthrob at SHS. Mikasa should’ve known it the first day of school when he was swept up by a group of people, leaving her alone on her first day as a freshman..  _

 

_ But even perfect Levi had some faults. Recently he’d been abandoning his studies to go out with friends, or out to eat. He was pretty popular and admired among the school, so at first it wasn’t a surprise that her brother was hardly home anymore.  Lately, however, Mikasa only heard him talk about one person. Eren Yeager. She’d never met him, but he and her brother sure seemed to spend a LOT of time together.  _

 

_ “Alright, tryouts will begin now. All freshman and sophomores please come this way” a voice said shaking her from her thoughts.  _

 

Thats me! 

 

_ Mikasa hurriedly walked over to where a bunch of other girls from her school were standing, all  _

_ looking just as excited as she was. When she made it to the group however, her spirits instantly fell. There were certain girls she had disliked from middle school, and she’d hoped they'd just disappear by the time they were freshman. But nope.  _

 

_ “Oh my god. If it isn’t little miss perfect. Here to show off?” one girl sniffed. “Or wait. I'm sure coach has already secured a spot for you.” _

 

_ “What'd you do to get ‘em to do that? Did you sleep with one of them?” Another chimed in, walking up and slinging her shoulder over the other girl’s.  _

 

_ Mikasa clenched her fists. “You know that's not trued” she seethed, but her getting angry only made the girls laugh more. Mikasa was about to turn and walk the other way when she realized someone was blocking her _ .

 

_ Mikasa swallowed. She couldn't care less about these stupid girls, but this one. This one she remembered.  _

_ She was tall, with short brown hair and freckles scattered over her cruel face. It was twisted into a smirk.  “Seriously?” she scoffed, look of disdain on her face as she joined in with her followers. “This isn’t fair Coach, we all know Mikasa has an advantage here.” _

 

_ “You tell her Ymir!” another piped up. “Snotty  _ sluts _ have no place in SHS’s elite softball team.”  _

 

_ “Everyone please.” the Coach said, trying to calm down the girls who were now all shouting and glaring at Mikasa. She didn't know where to turn. “Girls! If you don’t all settle down and listen to me right now I’ll make sure none of you get on the team!” _

 

_ This shut everyone up of course, and as the Coach tried to talk to them, Mikasa slunk off to the bleachers, tears threatening to escape her eyes.  _

 

Stupid Levi!  _ She raged. If it wasn’t for him, she’d be respected, just for being naturally good. Everyone thought that she was just another legacy, and was full of herself because she was good. But it wasn't that! Everything she’d worked for to get where she was standing was by herself. She truly believed that. _

 

_ The softball season was something she'd been looking forward to for ages, and wanted to finally being able to break free from Levi’s shadow. At this rate, it seemed like she'd always just be the same old Mikasa Ackerman; Levi's little sister. _

  
  


_ Mikasa took in a deep breath, and turned back to where everyone was. By the time tryouts commenced ( Mikasa was allowed to participate ), she found herself already winning over the coaches. Compliments showered over her as she beamed with pride, as the other girls gave her dirty looks. But not even the jealous death stares from Ymir were enough to bring her down. She was on a role, and nothing would be able to stop her.  _

 

_ When Mikasa had finished her pitching tryout, there was one final position she had to do. Hitting. _

_ Confidence building up in her chest, she rose to the hitter’s place with her face held high. _

They can hate me, _ she thought triumphantly. _ I deserve to be here, and everyone on this softball field knows it. 

 

_ Mikasa was a very good hitter, so when the cool groove of the bat touched her skin, her hands flew right up to position: she was ready. _

_ The pitcher was someone she didn't know, but at that moment she wasn't focused. She was too caught up in her moment of glory. Finally people were starting to notice her, and take interest in her. This was her chance! To actually be the one in the spotlight.  _

 

_ Mikasa let images of herself standing side by side Levi, if not, ahead of him as she was the one showered with recognition and respect, and envy. She felt as if the sun had suddenly parted just to shine on her, and she let her mind float up to it and bask in its warmth. _

 

_ Only to come crashing down. Suddenly without warning, she heard ‘heads up!’ from what sounded like behind her. But she never found out where it really came from, because before she could turn around, the world went black. _

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

_ “Mikasa….mikasa…..mikasa….” _

 

_ When she opened her eyes, immediately she knew something was wrong. Where was she? Why was she in a bed? Why was she- _

 

_ “Mikasa! Thank god you're awake!” She felt arms wrap around her and the familiar feeling sank into her. Mom. “The doctors had us so worried, your father and I couldn't stop-” _

 

_ “Doctors?!” Mikasa would've screamed but her head hurt far too much for that. Where was she? Why were doctors involved? “Where am I” she tried but her head struck again and a shooting sensation blasted into her brain. She gripped the sheets when she realized she wasn't able to due to the feeding tubes coming out from her wrist.  _

 

_ Something was seriously wrong. _

 

_ “Mom” she started, slower this time.Sudden dread kicking her in the stomach. “What happened?” _

 

_ The look on her mother’s face almost made her cry. And after she had explained everything, she was crying.  _

_ She’d been at the tryouts when a stray softball hit her hard in the head, causing her to be out for days. None of the coaches were focused on what was going on around the scene, but they knew it had to be someone from the softball team, for it was too skilled to be an accident. None of the girls had admitted to being the one behind it, but in order to find out all of the girls were banned from joining the team.  _

 

_ That was the only thing Mikasa smiled at. _

 

_ However as soon as she was told this her mother explained something that destroyed her heart even more. She wouldn't be able to play for the next 2 years. According to the coaches, they decided it would be best for her to not participate in this years season, and because she was “involved” with this incident, she too would be banned from playing for the next 2 years.  _

_ It was this news that made Mikasa cried for hours and hours on end.  _

 

Why? Why did this have to happen?  _ Mikasa begged her parents to argue with the school, but it had already been decided. She wouldn't be playing softball until senior year.  _

 

_ Mikasa wept until she had no strength to continue. All of her blood, sweat, and tears were put into making the team, and the next and the next. And just like that, they were snatched away from her, like some cruel joke. _

_ But it wasn't a joke. It was reality.  _

_ And now because of this reality, Mikasa would have to sit on the sidelines and watch from afar.  _

 

_ Despair hung in the air as she let the truth sink in. This was supposed to be her year. She was the one who was supposed to rise up above the rest. The one who everyone was supposed to envy. The one who was supposed to walk off of the softball field knowing all her hard work had finally paid off. Knowing that she would finally be known for her own achievements.  _

 

_ She almost laughed at the cruelty of the world. There were a billion things that should've happened to her on the day of softball tryouts, but instead, she was laying in bed with her spirits crushed, her body broken. And worst of all, she had to face defeat.  _

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

Mikasa woke to the sound of her brother’s voice.

 

“Mikasa.” She heard him say. She was so unused to having him call her by her full name, she almost laughed. After mumbling a response, she felt strong arms close around her unusually weak ones. “It's time for you to go inside” 

 

She didn't argue as she let her brother guide her to her room. It was dark, but she could make out her clock which read 1 am. Sighing, she crawled under the covers, musing at how it’d been since she'd dreamed about her past. How nostalgic it was to think back to her freshman year, back when she was still naive to the world around her.

 

Blinking back to the present, Mikasa stretched out her arm, reaching for something invisible ahead of her. The memory of her freshman year made her feel stupid. 

 

_ I may not have everything figured out yet _ she told herself, her lip trembling as she felt a wave of emotion hit her.  _ But one thing is for sure. I went through hell to get where I am. I've proven myself over and over again that I, Mikasa Ackerman am a determined, persistent person who deserves every single joy life has to offer. Challenges have never stopped me before. So why should they now?  _

 

Mikasa felt her hands close into a fist. 

If fear was what was holding her from being honest, then it was time to push past that. Being controlled by the negative thoughts that were guiding her was turning her into someone she wasn’t. She was letting herself admit that she was afraid and embarrassed of liking a girl because she didn’t want people to see her as ‘that way’, when she’d wanted more than anything to be her own self. Someone who didn’t let others control her life.

Screw society norms. 

 

_ No longer. _

 

Mikasa dropped her hand to her side, and grabbed her phone, her fingers shaking as she fumbled with the numbers on the screen. 

_ I won’t be held down anymore!  _ She repeated in her mind.  _ From now on,  _ I  _ will be the one who decides for myself. This whole world can’t stop me from being who I am. _

She scrolled through her contacts, her eyes scanning over each name carefully until she found the one. 

_ This is where I get to win. I refuse to let the world shape me. _

_ I won’t face defeat ever again. _

She took a shaky breath and hit the call button. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> SOOO Mikasa is finally going to stand up to the fact that she likes girls ( Annie anyways )!  
> I know this may be a bit unrealistic ( it took me a year to finally recognize I like girls and I'm not even out yet ), but for story purposes this needed to happen.  
> But don't think this all stops here. There's still a long road ahead for both of them :') 
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading! Comments & suggestions are always welcome! 
> 
>  
> 
> * I wrote this while listening to 어떻게 말해 ( How Can I Say ) by Day6 - GO LISTEN TO IT!!!


	12. Dreaming in Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa has finally come to realization about her feelings for Annie and has started down the path of acceptance. Until disaster strikes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TRIGGER WARNING* 
> 
> Everyone is going to hate me, but yes, I threw in more angst. If you are sensitive to suicidal acts then I suggest you skip this chapter.  
> And yes, I know I know, this wasn't in my original plot but I'm semi-trying to follow the original AoT plot ( it's a long stretch ). All I can say is THIS WILL ALL BE EXPLAINED.  
> If you're turned off from this because of the trigger warning then I am sorry to see you go, but this is the darkest chapter in All In. 
> 
> With that, thank you for reading,
> 
> Solar02 6/4/17

_ Pick up, pick up!  _ Mikasa thought anxiously as she let her phone ring. Sure, it was almost 2 AM on a Tuesday, but she knew her. She would answer her call no matter what.

 

Or so she prayed.

 

Mikasa continued to hold onto this glimmer of hope that she would answer, but her spirits faded as she got her voice message for the third time. What was she thinking? That she'd just be sitting in bed, waiting for her to call? 

 

_ Don't be stupid. _

 

Reality sinking in, Mikasa sunk back into her bed. She would have to wait until the morning it seemed. Sighing, she was about to close her eyes when her phone lit up and suddenly filled her empty room with light. This jolted her awake as she sat up and scrambled to grab her phone. She didn't even let it ring a second time.

 

"Hello?" She said urgently, and to her joy the voice groggily muttered something in return. It was incomprehensible of course, but she was grateful her call had gotten through.

 

"Holy shit do you have any idea what time it is?" Ymir's unmistakeable voice groaned back, and Mikasa could've kissed her through the phone. 

If it were any other time, Mikasa would’ve just agreed and hung up, but she needed to talk to someone and there was no one she trusted more than Ymir. 

 

“I’m sorry I’m sorry” she tried not to laugh as she heard what sounded like her friend sitting up in bed. There was yet another groan.

 

“You know you’re lucky that you’re you” Ymir mumbled through the phone but Mikasa could hear her friend waking up. “I don’t think I’d answer the phone for anyone else but you at 2 A.M.” There was a pause, and Mikasa waited for her to continue. “But, you don’t often call me at this time of day. What’s up kiddo? It better be good.”

 

Mikasa swallowed. “Kas?” she heard Ymir ask, but she ignored her. All her focus was on her next move, and how she was going to word everything without bursting into tears. AGAIN. She grabbed her favorite lion plushie and began running her fingers through her mane to calm herself. It was now or never.

 

“So Ymir….” she began, hating how her voice was cracking. She stopped mid-sentence, and squeezed her hands into fists.

This was stupid.  _ She _ was stupid. This whole situation was so impossibly stupid, she wanted to laugh. Here she was surrounded by people who were out and happy with their lives, while she was scared to tell her best friend, her  _ lesbian _ friend, that she had a crush on a girl. A girl who was also gay.  

 

She ran her other hand through her hair, trying to calm her fidgeting. Mikasa had already made up her mind right? Fuck society, if it was keeping her from being happy then why should she let it stop her from being honest? 

But she knew the answer. She didn’t want to be judged. She was scared of disappointing her parents, she was scared of what her friends would think. The last thing she needed was for their group to think she was doing it to grasp attention. Or even worse be like Levi. 

 

_ You’re not his shadow.  _

 

 

Mikasa set her jaw into a thin line. 

_ And you never have been. I can’t worry about others right now _ , she screamed in her mind. 

Her hands were clammy and she realized she was shaking. She also realized that Ymir was still on the other end of the line, waiting patiently for her to speak. Her best friend who, even though had a past with her, was always there for her. Willing to listen. To not judge. 

 

Mikasa forced herself to lax, her fists unclenching, her abs untensing. She took a deep breath and said shakily, “I think...you’re right.”

 

Mikasa breathed the last word, and let it float in the empty space of her room. There was silence on the end of the line, and Mikasa felt her heartbeat pick right back up again. Had Ymir hung up on her? Had she given up on waiting for her response?

 

Suddenly she heard a big gust of air burst from the microphone and almost jumped. Shaken and now startled, she realized Ymir had been holding in her breath. 

 

“Fucking FINALLY!” Ymir practically screamed, and Mikasa had to cover the microphone to keep it from waking up Levi. 

 

Mikasa didn’t know what she’d expected, but her best friend’s reaction was….perfect. It was just what she needed. Mikasa hadn’t realized it, but she’d been tense ever since Ymir answered the phone, and as her friend continued to talk, Mikasa felt herself start to smile.

 

For the past week she’d been more down than she had all year. Levi would ask her how she was, or Coach Smith would compliment her on her performance but it didn’t matter. Since her mind was already occupied with the fact that the person she’d always known herself as may not actually be the real her. 

And now that she’d told someone what had been bothering her for the past week, she felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

 

Mikasa didn’t know what this feeling was, but she did know that she was relieved to have the truth out to someone, someone who’d love her no matter what. That the warm feeling within her chest wouldn’t leave her for a long time. 

 

“So? Spill girl! What made you realize?” Ymir asked after a whole long string of her talking about how proud she was of Mikasa. Mikasa blushed, and she realized that she didn’t have an immediate answer to that. Was it what Ymir had said to her last weekend? Or had it always been there, and if it weren’t for Annie she’d never have known- “Mikasa!” Ymir exclaimed and she almost coughed. Now was NOT a good time to think about Annie.

 

“I guess that’s still unknown for me” she felt her face get warm again as she thought about the catcher’s lips on hers. The answer was very clear, but she didn’t feel like spilling all the dirty details about how she felt about Annie to Ymir. Not yet. “I guess I had been thinking about it, but didn’t want to admit it?” she paused, feeling shy about what was coming next. “I didn’t know how you’d react.”

 

There was silence, followed by a snicker, followed by a snort. “Ymir!” Mikasa exclaimed, and her friend burst out into a fit of giggling. She was offended at first, but as Ymir continued, she felt herself grinning too. Sounds of their laughter could’ve been heard miles away, as Mikasa and Ymir let all their voices radiate through their phones. When they finally calmed down, Mikasa heard Ymir sniffle and realized her eyes must’ve started watering. 

 

“I’m sorry” Ymir choked, and Mikasa could hear the smile in her voice. “It’s just, for you to think that I wouldn't accept you is just...Oh Mikasa. I wish I could hug you right now.”

 

She stopped, and Mikasa felt water, not from their laughing fit start to fall from her eyes. The silence on the other side of the phone made her realize Ymir was crying too. Out of relief. Out of joy.

 

Every doubt Mikasa had about her sexuality was finally coming to light. Sure, her other friends wouldn't know about it yet, but having someone as close as Ymir accept her meant the world to her. 

They talked for hours after that, about Ymir’s relationship with Christa, about Levi and Eren, about practically everything, until there was nothing left to say. It was 3:30 A.M, and Mikasa felt her eyes falling closed as she and Ymir hung up after an hour of talking. 

 

Her hopes had been lifted after telling Ymir about how she felt towards girls. Even if she wasn’t a lesbian, she wouldn’t let herself be ashamed of these ‘feelings’ anymore. Plus Ymir had assured her that bi-sexuality as well as pan-sexuality were also options, and were no less valid than being gay or straight. 

 

But Mikasa was too tired and too relieved to think about any of that.  With the feeling of finally letting someone know about her secret, she settled into her bed and drifted off to sleep. 

 

 

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

Mikasa woke up the next morning with courage that she’d never felt before. She couldn’t help but smile as she ignored Levi’s hungover face and practically skipped out the door, which was very strange for her. Mikasa Ackerman didn’t skip.

 

Or so the world thought.

 

Her talk with Ymir had helped her brainstorm ideas to get the catcher to notice her ( which of course was dumb - Mikasa Ackerman trying to catch someone’s eye was unheard of!). She had her number, but a straight up text would be too awkward. She could go to her house but the thought of being in Eva’s presence wasn’t something she wanted to experience ever again. There was something about Annie’s stepmother that just rubbed her the wrong way.

 

Which lead to the final option; talking face to face. She shuddered at the thought. It wasn’t that she wanted to engage in deep conversation, but she hated that the catcher kept avoiding her. 

 

Besides, if she was going to get over her, she’d need to hear it straight from Annie. She’d finally come out to one person which was great, but now she needed to get Annie out of her mind. She needed Annie to say straight to her face she didn't like her, because she was always preoccupying her thoughts! She couldn’t concentrate as well during school with her in her mind, and sleep was just out of the question. Whenever she was just about to drift off to sleep, visions of the smaller girl played with her dreams. 

 

And just like that she was thinking about Annie again.  _ Crap _ . 

 

 

Mikasa arrived to school 5 minutes before practice, but as she pulled up to the SHS parking lot she couldn’t help but notice that Annie’s car wasn’t in it’s usual spot. Weird.

_ Maybe she drove in a different car, _ Mikasa thought. 

 

She knew from the day at Trost Annie had access to a lot of different vehicles so it wouldn’t be that strange if her car had changed. She got out of her own vehicle and started walking towards the girl’s locker room, but when she got into the locker room she stopped in puzzlement. There was no one there. 

 

But why? 

It was 7:58. There was no way all the varsity girls could have changed that quickly. There was usually a trickle of late risers who came to practice around 7:05, and how could there possibly be none of them today? 

 

This was all very strange for a Tuesday morning. They always had early hitting practice, and Mikasa was sure Coach Smith wouldn’t just cancel it for no reason without telling the team. Confusion written all over her face, she set down her bags and was about to start changing when she heard something. She stood up and walked towards the gym entrance, and the sound got louder. Voices.

Her curiosity taking the best of her, she decided to go out there and see what was going on. She looked back at her bag and decided it wouldn’t matter if she left it there. She’d be back to finish changing in a few minutes anyways.

She looked back to her things one last time before she pushed open the door. The first thing she was greeted with was the sudden burst of noise, and then heat.

 

There, standing in the middle of the gym were dozens of people, who were all talking at once. 

Now  _ very _ confused, Mikasa scanned the crowd for a familiar face, and spotted Coach Smith talking to someone. As she got closer, she noticed the uniforms and her heart sank. Paramedics. Coach Smith was talking to paramedics. That only could mean one thing; someone had gotten injured - and by the looks of it, bad. She tried to get closer but everyone was huddled towards the middle, and being short, she couldn’t peek over the tops of people’s heads.

 

As she passed people, she realized there were more than just the softball team involved. Staff were there too, and so were a few students she recognized from the halls. 

But she still didn’t know what was happening.

 

She decided to back off and stand to the side when she heard her name. Turning, she saw Ymir running towards her with Christa. 

 

“Ymir!” Mikasa walked towards her friend, but when she saw her face she stopped moving. She suddenly felt strong arms wrap around her as her friend collided into her. “Ymir...What’s going on? Why are all these people-” 

  
“Mikasa” Ymir interrupted, looking into her eyes. Mikasa swallowed. They were red, and her friend’s frantic look wasn’t something she was used to. She visibly gripped Christa’s hand, and Mikasa noticed the smaller girl too looked as if she’d seen a ghost. “It’s Annie” Ymir said, her face taunt. “T-they told me she’d come to the school really early, around 5-ish. She must’ve been headed to the gym, although I don’t know why since practice doesn’t start till 7:00-”

 

Blood rushed into her ears, making it even harder for Mikasa to try to pinpoint where her friend was. She felt weak, and the world started spinning. “Just get to the point!” Mikasa felt her heart rate accelerating, as various scenarios spun through her head. Had she been attacked? Raped? There was something Ymir was hiding from her and whatever it was, she was sick of her friend stalling. “Please,” she said, her head resting on Ymir’s chest. “Tell me what happened to her.”

 

Mikasa whimpered as she felt a hand stroke her head. “They told me she O-D’d” Ymir said shakily, and Mikasa felt herself tense up, before her blood began to boil. “I’m so sorry Mikasa-”

 

“That’s bullshit” Mikasa snapped, pulling away from Ymir, almost stumbling from the sudden nausea that hit her. “There was no way Annie would - someone must’ve done that to her. They must’ve driven her here early so no one would see her, and then left her to d…” Mikasa couldn’t finish her sentence as she felt hands close around her and shake her violently. 

 

“Stop it” Ymir growled, and Mikasa instantly fell silent, tears spilling from her eyes. She stared back into Ymir’s eyes, who reflected her pitiful state. 

“Mikasa…” Christa grabbed her arm as Ymir continued to try to hold her down. She couldn’t think straight. “When she overdosed it was self inflicted ok? There are cameras set up around the school and...She drove herself here. She got out of the car and….dear god, who knows how long she sat outside the school? In the dark, in the cold-”

 

Mikasa held up her hand. She had heard enough, her heart breaking as images of Annie’s small body curled up on one of the school’s rusty benches filled her mind. It was too much for her to handle. She couldn’t breathe, as she shoved past Ymir and Christa and the rest of the crowd, making her way to the gym doors. She heard them call after her but she ignored their pleas as she stormed outside, letting the morning sunlight hit her skin. 

 

“Are you happy now?” She screamed to no one in particular. The sun stung her eyes, but she forced herself to glare up into the sky. If this was what god had wanted then he’d won. Her situation had morphed into a fucking nightmare. She’d had everything build up for her only for it to crumble again, with her being able to do nothing about it. 

_ I should’ve known _ , she thought as she slammed her fist onto the side of the school. Annie had been acting weird ever since that night. She had started to skip practices, and she wouldn’t talk to anyone about anything.

 

Mikasa had noticed her occasionally stopping to speak with Reiner or Bertholdt in the hallways, but never more than a second and she was...gone. 

_ Could I have had done something to prevent this?  _ Mikasa repeated over and over again as angry tears fell from her eyes. Annie had never really opened up to her, not once since that day she went to her house, and even then she was reserved.  _ Was it my fault for not reaching out to her sooner? Is she….she can’t be… _

 

Mikasa shut her eyes and gave one last punch to the concrete wall, screaming at the impact.  Not that she minded the sting that followed after it. Nothing could hurt her more than she already had been. She felt tears flow from her eyes for what seemed like hours, and soon had nothing left.    
So she sat there, mindlessly staring up into the glassy sky, watching as clouds started covering up the sun, leaving her to shiver as she curled herself up against the school’s cold exterior. 

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

There was light. 

Mikasa blinked. She blinked again and struggled to sit up. Everything was a bit hazy, but the last thing she remembered was being cold and…

She swallowed. Images flooded back into her memory, and she suddenly felt the urge to cry once more. But before she could wallow in her misery, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. 

 

She looked up and saw Ymir, who looked at her and offered her a small smile. Mikasa didn’t return it. 

“Mikasa…” she heard Ymir say but she wasn’t interested. How could Ymir just sit there with her hand on her shoulder like everything was alright? “She’s up. Or she’s alive at least.”

 

That was enough to snap Mikasa from her gloom. “What?” she croaked, and coughed when she realized how awful she sounded. Her voice was hoarse. “Can I talk to her?” She stood up only to feel firm hands placed on her arm.

“Calm down” Ymir said, as she looked around. Mikasa followed her gaze and realized they were in a hospital. She looked around for any familiar faces, but all she saw were strangers. “They’ve all left. We looked everywhere for you - only to find you outside the school. Then I brought you here because I figured you’d want to hear if she was ok or not…”

 

“How long has it been?” Mikasa whispered, and Ymir looked blankly off into space, her cold eyes resting on nothing in particular. 

 

“I’d say about 11 hours. They’ve got her hooked up to some medical shit and they’re expecting her recovery to be rather quick, since her records claim that her recovery rate is incredibly fast. ”

Mikasa nodded, and she slumped back into her original position, relief hitting her like a tidal wave. Annie was alive. 

 

“The doctors said they’re guessing she must’ve taken about 85 milligrams of ambien.” Ymir continued. “She’s still too weak to talk though” Ymir added after Mikasa jolted up again. 

 

“So when  _ can _ I talk to her?” She asked quiety. She stared at the ground, and realized Ymir didn’t have an answer to her question. No one did. 

 

How long had Annie been suffering by herself, without telling anyone? Mikasa sniffled, as she thought of Annie dragging herself to SHS, only to be found hours later in a coma-like state. 

Mikasa knew what the police and paramedics said was probably true; it was self inflicted. But she just couldn’t wrap her head around why Annie would do something like that. 

 

Hours passed as she just sat there, all she could think about was Annie awakening. She would be fine. She had to be. 

Her sense of time was lost as she sat there, praying over and over that Annie would explain everything once she was fully recovered. Wishing she could’ve done something to help. Hating feeling so hopeless, so useless. 

 

At some point she remembered Ymir asking her if she wanted to eat, but she refused. She wasn’t hungry.

Hours later however, her stomach growled and she was told she hadn’t eaten anything in the past day. Ymir offered to drive her back to her house, and she and Ymir ate in silence, both not even tasting the food as they stared blankly into the space around them. After dinner, Mikasa headed to her own home, and crawled into bed, shivering at how cold she felt. 

 

She tried to close her eyes, but the moon was shining brightly that night, and was illuminating her room in a way that was detrimental to her sleep. She tossed and turned, but it seemed the soft glow was insistent on following her wherever she turned. After restlessly attempting to fall asleep for an hour, she’d had enough. Cursing, she stood up and reached for the curtains, shutting out the moon’s radiant shine before crawling back into bed and wrapping herself with her covers.

There would be no moon that night. 

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

 

Mikasa woke to the sun shining through her curtains, and she angrily threw a pillow at her window, hating how it was lighting up her room. She wanted to be dark, and let her feelings and mind consume her.

 

After minutes of shutting her eyes and trying to ignore her growling stomach,  she walked downstairs. After surveying the empty house though, she decided foot could wait and walked back up to her bedroom where she plopped back on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and watched as her ceiling was dotted her with sunlight. 

She rolled onto her side, trying to hide from it but it seemed wherever she went, the sun’s rays were following her. Finally giving in, she stormed over to her balcony and threw open the drapes. 

She sighed angrily as she stepped out onto the patio. The sun was blinding, and she had to squint from deathening rays. Water droplets dappled the railing of the balcony, and she realized it must’ve rained last night. Remnants of a storm were scattered on the ground below her, and leaves had blown over onto her deck. 

She continued to stare blankly at the scene, when she heard her phone ring. She cursed. 

Why should she answer? What was even the point anymore?

 

As much as she tried to ignore it, she found herself slowly walking back inside and reaching for her phone. She saw Ymir’s number on her phone’s interface and reluctantly hit the answer button. Before she could even say hello, her friend practically screamed into the phone.

“Mikasa! Quick hurry! They’re letting visitors see Annie...I think you want to be there” Ymir sounded breathless. 

 

“What?” Mikasa responded, with Ymir’s sudden news, reaching for her shoes. “Is she...is she up?” 

 

“Dunno, but people can only visit her for about an hour or so, so we better hurry!”

 

“Ok ok I got it” Mikasa grabbed her car keys off the hook and made her way to her car. “Meet you at Shiganshina Medical Clinic in 30?”

 

“You can count on it.” 

 

Mikasa nodded and ended the call, as she left the house,  turning her attention to the roads ahead. She drove there in 20 minutes, and when she reached the hospital Ymir was sitting in the lobby looking anxious. 

 

“You’re here” She breathed and Mikasa nodded. “Let’s go.”

 

The two made their way to the desk and filled out visitor information. Mikasa stared at the clock as the desk people led them through a process that felt too long for necessary. After another 5 minutes, they were finally led up an elevator and towards hospital rooms. 

 

They walked down a long hall full of rooms until the woman stopped and announced this was the room occupying patient Annie Leonhart. The two girls thanked her as she left them with a small wave. 

Mikasa tentatively raised her hand to knock on the door, and for a brief moment she flashed back to when she had first visited Annie at her house. The same nervousness was still there, although this time for a different reason. 

Mikasa took in a deep breath and knocked. There was no response for a minute, but soon she heard shuffling and the door opened. A nurse greeted her with a smile. 

 

“Hi” Mikasa said quickly. “We’re here to see Annie Leonhart. We heard that you’re letting visitors in at this time”

 

“Yes yes, please come in” The nurse stepped aside and Mikasa almost ran her over. “I’ll give you your privacy now” she called as she shut the door behind her. 

Mikasa didn’t reply, just walked slowly over to the bed. The sheets were pristine white, and the room was shimmering clean, with the faint smell of air freshener. Someone had done the honors of placing white roses next to the bedside, and Mikasa felt the urge to smash the vase. White roses were Eva’s trademark flower. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. 

 

Pushing that aside, she neared Annie, and felt herself losing her ability to form words. Her face was white, her lips a pale pink as her chest rose up only to fall again slowly. Her fringe lightly covered right eye, and her arms were crossed over her waist. 

 

“She really looks as if she’s sleeping” Ymir commented behind her. Mikasa had been so caught up with staring at Annie she’d almost forgotten Ymir was still there. She nodded in response, but while doing so carefully studied Annie’s face. There was something about the smaller girl’s expression that broke her heart. She looked almost...pained. Her delicate face twisted into an emotion that resembled sadness. A lump formed in her throat. 

“I’ll go” Ymir said softly, and before Mikasa could answer, her friend was already walking towards the door. 

It shut behind her, finally letting her be alone with the smaller girl. 

 

“Oh Annie” Mikasa whispered as she knelt down to her bed. Now that there was no one there, Mikasa could really take in Annie’s presence. Her usual stoic face was now peaceful, as if Annie was in a deep slumber rather than recovering from a substance abuse. There were no physical marks on her body, which made her relieved. No one had hurt her. 

 

She was surprised when she heard a slight tingle, and it shook her from her thoughts as she turned her body to face where the sound had came from. A single chime sounded from the wind as it blew, and Mikasa stood up and walked towards the window. She opened it, and let in the fresh breeze as it blew past her, making her shut her eyes. The sky was a bright, crystal clear blue and when she opened them, she found herself looking at one of nature’s most beautiful phenomenons. It was a rainbow. 

 

Shimmering, sparkling against the sky’s blue hue was all six colors, contrasting to the white clouds and the city's skyscrapers. 

It was like the world was telling her something. After the storm, there was always a rainbow. Mikasa turned from the window and back to Annie as she walked back towards the bed. 

“I wish you could see this right now” Mikasa sighed as she lowered herself next to the sleeping girl again. She felt a tear fall from her eyes, and soon followed by more. “I’m sorry. You would want me to be strong.” she sniffled, as she blinked. She wiped her eyes. 

 

Slowly, she lowered her body so her face was inches away from Annie’s. 

There was no fluttery feelings. There was no embarrassment. The feeling Mikasa felt at that moment was something she dared not name, as she lifted her trembling fingers to Annie’s face, and gently pushed her fringe from her eyes, revealing the smaller girl’s full face. She would’ve marveled at the beauty of the smaller girl, but at that moment she wasn’t thinking. 

 

“Annie” she said softly, as she felt her eyes start to water again. “Forgive me.” 

_ It’s time to wake up now. _

“It’s time to wake up from your dream.”

Tears now fully streaming down her face, Mikasa let the last words escape her mouth before she delicately placed hers lips on top of Annie’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, 
> 
> So if you didn't catch on to the plot, Annie over-dosing is like how she turns herself into a crystal (AoT), and her whole 'slumber' is like how she's sleeping within the crystal. EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED IN CHAPTER 13 STAY WITH ME
> 
> This whole story is like a rollercoaster, and all I'll say is this is basically a big loop and all the characters are stuck upside down ( weird, I know ) but it won't be like that forever. 
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading All In, please leave comments because I love hearing what you guys have to say about this story. I'm also curious on your thoughts on this particular chapter, since this took me forever to write ( won't update for a while due to finals ) 
> 
> Thank you guys <3 P.S I threw in the rainbow because HAPPY GAY PRIDE MONTH!! 
> 
> Solar02  
> 6/4/17


	13. Stuck [ On You ]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the sudden tragedy of SHS's catcher being unable to play due to a serious accident, Mikasa will have to continue to lead her team to victory even without the help of Annie. But first, talking needs to go on between the two, before anything else happens to this delicate relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, 
> 
> I'm sorry it's been two weeks? This took me FOREVER because there's a lot I wanted to fit in ( still didn't get down everything ) but since this chapter was 13 pages I figured where I left off was a good place to stop.  
> There's enough here to keep you reading for a while :) 
> 
> It will only get lighter from here on out so thank you for sticking with me through the dark scenes.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please comment, I love reading what you guys have to say <3
> 
> \- Solar02  
> 6/20/17
> 
> (P.S recognize the title? Its another Monsta X song! )

It had been three days since Mikasa had last seen Annie, and during those three days, she’d put all her energy and strength into softball. Each and every practice, she’d make sure to pitch to ball extra fast, or hit with unnecessary force, taking her teammates by surprise. Everyone knew she was upset, and with a right. The whole team suffered a loss without Annie and they knew it. Plus the tournament at SHS was in a week, and no matter how fast Annie healed, she wouldn’t be able to be on the field in time. 

“Mikasa” Coach Smith walked towards her after practice one day, catching her right before she was about to go in and change. Worry spread over his face. “Any news on-" 

“No” she replied curtly. He stared at her speechless for a few seconds, and then seemed to realize where he was. Mikasa began to speak quickly, not wanting to dwell on the catcher’s absence. The whole situation was still a very delicate matter, and no matter how much she beat herself up for what had happened, she didn’t want the world to know how much it was affecting her. “The doctors say she’ll be lucky if she leaves the hospital by Wednesday,’ she continued wanting more than anything to sink into the ground and disappear, never to be seen again. “The tournament is on Friday, there’s no way she’ll be in any condition to play-”

“Mikasa. That wasn’t what I was implying” He said calmly, but irritation was in his tone. “I wanted to confide with you to talk about her replacement.”

Mikasa flinched at the word. Replacement. 

_She can’t be replaced._  

“Fine” She muttered stiffly, as she reached for her bag. The best catcher in the state could come and sub in, but she knew there was no way she’d play as well as she could without Annie there. Even though neither girl was exactly the best with face to face communication, there was definitely chemistry between them on the softball field, which in the world of Varsity meant literally everything. The thought of trying to build something so fragile as that with another player was something she couldn’t even think about. Reluctantly she sighed, “What’s your idea?”

Coach Smith made a clicking sound, and Mikasa knew she was being difficult, but as Captain AND MVP on the team ( with Annie and Ymir as very close seconds ), she had the right to her feelings. And talking about replacing Annie was something she did not feel like talking about. “I’m thinking about Zoe” He said, and she knew he was waiting for a reaction. Mikasa just shrugged. If it was a reaction he was waiting for, well then, he wouldn’t get one. 

_Without Annie, we’re just going to lose anyway. I couldn’t give two shits about who plays._  

“Is that alright with you, Mikasa?” 

“It’s fine” She replied, trying not to snap back. “Is there anything else?”

Coach Smith stared at her some more, and Mikasa had the urge to snap her fingers in front of his face. If he was going to reprimand her about her sudden attitude then he could spit it out. “Mikasa” He began, and all she could think about was ‘ _ here we go _ .’ “I know this is hard for you, considering you and Annie had a...special relationship as pitcher and catcher. However I know how you want to make it to State Championships, and if we slip up at this tournament, then we’re giving up on one more chance to make this dream come true. So please. Do it for the team.”

Mikasa nodded and thanked him as they parted ways, his words bothering her all the way home. 

_ If we slip at this tournament, then we’re giving up on one more chance to make this dream come true. Do it for the team. _

Mikasa pulled into her driveway, only to pull back out. She continued to drive, all the way to Rose Hill, and as she climbed up, she repeated the words over and over again.  

_ Dream come true? How could I possibly do that when such a big part of the dream is missing?  _

Mikasa walked towards the peak, the peak where, on that fated night, she saw a shooting star. It was early spring and  the sun was starting to set later in the day, but she felt herself still scanning the sky for a sign. For a bit of reassurance that everything would be alright.

But all she could see was the setting sun as it fell behind the city’s buildings and the way it tainted the sky with an angry, orange hue. 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

  
When she woke up early the next day, she realized it was a Saturday and flopped back on her bed instinctively. She was about to curl her toes up and go back to sleep when she felt her phone vibrate underneath her pillow. Groaning, she lazily picked up her phone to see there was an unread text message from 5 hours ago. Ymir.

_ Hey ‘Kas, so it’s super early right now. 2 A.M to be exact - sound familiar? I was playing Overwatch when I got an email from Coach Smith. He said that Annie is up. Should u go see her?  _

Mikasa swallowed. No wonder he wanted to talk to her about the Catcher. Why hadn’t he told her Annie was up, and why did Ymir seem to always know things she didn’t?

She was excited nonetheless. The last time she’d seen Annie, she was still unresponsive.   
_ And that was the day that you kissed her, _ she reminded herself, shivering at the thought. She bit her lip as she texted Ymir back, trying to get the tingling sensation from the sudden memory to stop. 

_ Wait how come i didn’t get the email? And what a relief Annie is ok. You’re right tho I probably should see her with me being Captain and all. Want to meet at the Clinic in an hour?  _

Mikasa sighed and put her face back into her pillow, only to have her phone vibrate for a second time. 

_ Idk, I think he only sent it to me. Also cut it out w/ the lame excuses ur excited to see her don’t make stuff up ;)   _

_ B there at noon _

Mikasa stared at the text, and reread the second sentence over and over again, almost choking at the tenth word. Excited? Preposterous! Mikasa Ackerman didn’t get  _ excited _ over small things like that. She just wanted to make sure Annie was ok, of course.

 

[ 2 hours later ]

 

After about the 11th different outfit combination, Mikasa gave up. Fashion really was stupid. Thank god she didn’t bother with it in the first place.

It was 11:50 and Ymir would be at her house any minute. She took one last look at her reflection in her mirror, her short hair falling lightly on her shoulders accompanied by a regular shirt and faded jeans. She grabbed her purse and heading downstairs, noting that Levi wasn’t around, which meant he was either doing one of three things. Number one, sleeping or number two laying in bed hungover and pretending to be sleeping. Or number three staying at Eren’s house - god know’s what they were doing - and probably sleeping _together_. Any way one looked at it, Levi was most likely asleep, so she didn’t feel bad when Ymir came and picked her up.   

“So how’ve you been kid?” she asked as they got in the car. Ymir’s hand immediately reached for the radio, and she rolled down the windows as she played the Blue Neighborhood album. 

“Ok I guess” Mikasa replied, enjoying the wind through her hair. It was just as old times. “Guess what though? Coach wants Zoe to fill in for Annie.”

Ymir didn’t take her hands off the wheel. “He’s smart to do that” She commented as she made a sharp left, almost cutting the car next to them off. Mikasa made a mental note have her drive them next time. “She’s a bit odd but she’s a good player nonetheless. Not to mention she’s the best chance we have if we wanna win this weekend’s game without-” Mikasa grimaced. “Sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” she replied, but it really wasn’t. If Annie stayed cooped up for too long, she’d get out of shape and would give Coach Smith yet another reason to want her off the team. Regardless of what he thought was right, Mikasa was determined to keep Annie as the SHS softball catcher. 

She and Ymir continued to chat as they pulled up into the medical clinic, leaving Mikasa with a great pit in her stomach. The last time she was here, she was still unsure of Annie’s stability. She was afraid; guilty, angry, sad. Today however, she was only anxious, with her anxiety hitting her full force. As they walked in, her mind already started racing as they passed the glass doors and entered the lobby. 

Luckily Ymir noticed her discomfort and quickly took charge, entering their names on the visitors list and leading them to the waiting area where they sat down. 

“So what are you going to say to her?” Ymir asked suddenly catching her off guard. Mikasa bit the inside of her cheek. What would she say to Annie? She knew how she felt about the whole situation in her head; questions threatening to put her brain in overload clouded her thoughts and troubled her focus. But verbalizing her concern to her without being a nervous wreck was a whole different story.  

“I...I don’t know” she admitted as she played with her phone strap. A small, chibi keychain of the female titan hung loosely from its ball chain as she tried to keep her hands occupied while toying with it. “I guess I’ll just take it one step at a time. She’ll still be tired, and I don’t want her to worry about softball.”   
Ymir nodded thoughtfully, and Mikasa felt her eyes on her hands. “You really like the female titan huh?” her friend asked out of the blue, and Mikasa stopped her hands. “Isn’t she like, humanities enemy or something?”

Mikasa just shrugged in response. “That’s true I suppose,” she replied modestly. She put her hand on the keychains face, stroking it lovingly. Of all the Attack on Titan characters, the female titan was her favorite for some reason. Mikasa didn’t quite know why she was so drawn to it, but there was something unsaid about the actions the character had taken in the story. And there was a bit of her personality Mikasa could relate to. “In the end though, she was only fighting because she’d been told all her life that there was only one option for her. To fight against the world, to treat it as the enemy. Even when she could’ve stopped. She could’ve saved herself from-”

“Fritz Ymir?” 

The girl’s perked up as the nurse called Ymir’s name. Abandoning their conversation, they stood up and began walking down the long hallways, passing room after room. Nostalgia and unpleasant memories reminded Mikasa of the last time she’d walked down these halls. She tried to put the past behind her as they made their way to the door. The nurse smiled and waved, and just like she’d done before, she trembled before the door.  

“You want me to open it?” Ymir asked after a few seconds, but Mikasa shook her head. She gently knocked, but a sudden burst of confidence hit her, and she didn’t wait for an answer as she walked in the room. It was just as she’d remembered it - small, but clean. A fresh scent filled the room, and there was a gentle breeze from the open window. Both Ymir and Mikasa walked hesitantly toward the bed, and she felt her heartbeat pick up a bit. She turned to her side and noticed the white roses that had been placed neatly on the bedside where gone. She fought the urge to smirk. 

 “Annie?” Ymir said suddenly. There was no response. “If you’re hiding from us, then you can stop now,” her friend joked, but there was still no answer. “Maybe she’s sleeping?” Mikasa just shrugged but disappointment must have been written all over her face. Suddenly Ymir pulled the curtain aside, revealing that Annie was not in the bed. “Where could she’ve gone?”  

 There was a knock on the door, making both girl’s turn in alarm. A nurse walked in, and looked equally as confused to see the two girls standing in front of the patient’s bed. 

 “Excuse me. Do you know where Annie is?”

 The nurse looked puzzled as she peered around their shoulders and audibly groaned. “Miss Leonhart” she muttered, checking something on her clipboard. “I told her she needed to rest but it seems like she’s decided to disobey me yet again.” She clucked her tongue and Mikasa almost chuckled. Even when she was ill, Annie still wouldn’t listen to anyone. 

 “Do you know where she is by any chance?” Ymir asked hopefully, and the nurse nodded in exasperation. 

 “I make no promises, but I have a very good idea. On the rooftop most likely” she continued to scribble down notes on her clipboard before tucking the pen behind her ear. “I have another patient to visit after this, but I can point you in the general direction. Follow me please.” 

 The two nodded, as they once again followed the nurse down the hallway. They walked towards an elevator, and all three of them went up 10 floors until they’d reached the top of the building. The lady instructed them that they’d have to take another staircase to get to the top, and then take a right. They thanked her, and she just gave them a tiny smile before scurrying off, probably tending to patients who were actually present in their rooms. 

They found the staircase, hidden behind an exit door, and as they walked up the staircase Mikasa felt as if she’d been here before. It was just like the school rooftop, she realized as they reached the door. She carefully pushed open the door and immediately a burst of sunlight struck her, causing her to throw up her hands to shield her eyes from the sunlight. 

 “Woah” she heard Ymir comment as the two girls let the door shut behind them. “What is this place?” 

 Ymir could’ve shouted directly in her ear, but even if she had, Mikasa wouldn’t have paid her any attention. For there was only one thing that her gaze was focused on at that moment. There, sitting in a wheel chair and staring out into the distance was the girl that had caused her pain. The girl who’d made her confused, frustrated, and above all, scared. But this was also the girl that had made her realize something about herself. The girl who, no matter how hard tried to push her away, was always doing things that only made Mikasa even more drawn to her. 

 And now, Mikasa felt as if an invisible thread was pulling her closer as she felt herself place one foot in front of the other towards Annie Leonhart’s direction. 

She’d gotten but a few feet away from the chair when a strong breeze suddenly blew strongly, ruffling her hair and making her eyes water.  

_ “Who’s there?” _

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

Mikasa’s heart jumped into her throat as she struggled to form words. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. 

She watched as slowly, the voice turned around revealing its owner until in front of her was the familiar face that she would get so easily lost in, eyes staring back at her, brighter than the sky itself.

“Annie,” Mikasa breathed as she reached out to her. She was about to touch Annie’s fingers  when she felt something cold slap her hand, catching her by surprise. 

“Why are you here?” the smaller girl’s voice trembled, and Mikasa swallowed. She’d never seen this side of her. The Annie she knew was always calm. Emotionless. But this Annie was something completely different from the typical presentation the smaller girl was known for. This Annie couldn’t even look her in the eyes.  “No…” Annie whispered, her hair covering her eyes. “You can’t be here...stay away from me-”

Annie!” Mikasa cried, grabbing the smaller girl’s shoulders. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?” She felt Annie try to break free, gasping as she realized she’d underestimated Annie’s strength, and she let go as the smaller girl fought her way free from her grip. 

“Let me go!” she screamed, her hands coming up to her face. Annie didn’t look Mikasa in the eyes, just pushed herself away from the brunette who stared at her with shocked eyes. “Why can’t you fucking leave me alone? Why can’t you see that I’m not who you think I am?” She paused and bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. 

 "Why are you saying this?” Mikasa’s voice started to tremble too, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her. “Annie, what is it?”

 There was silence, but Mikasa stood her ground. Annie just shook her head before again trying to escape, desperately moving her arms and pulling herself further and further away.

_ Fuck. She’s getting away, just like always. _ Mikasa blinked back tears, and set her mouth in a firm line, full of determination.  

_ If you think you can just push me away again, think again Annie. I won’t leave you.  _

 Not thinking straight, she followed after her, picking up the pace as she struggled to get ahead of the smaller girl, who already had a very large head start. Annie was trying to get away, but she knew her path. She could pre-calculate her movements before the blonde had even made them. 

Finally, she’d managed to get ahead of her, and determinedly stopped her dead in her tracks. “Annie!” She screamed, blocking her path and spreading her arms. The smaller girl grit her teeth and again tried to maneuver around her, but Mikasa was too quick.  “Stop it. Please. I want to talk to you. I want to help you.” Tears started pouring out of her eyes, her strong girl armor shattering. “I’m frustrated. I want to help you but I can’t if you push me away.” Mikasa sniffled, and rubbed her eyes. 

 Annie remained silent, but she wasn’t finished yet. Mikasa took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down as she opened her arms again, this time reaching out in front of her body. She felt the smaller girl try to struggle against her again, but she wasn’t letting her go again. 

  _I won’t let you fight this by yourself._

“Please…” she pleaded, as she gently pulled Annie’s smaller body closer onto hers. “Let me understand what is going on in that head of yours.” 

The shaking stopped, and she felt Annie’s tight grip on her arms unclench, as if she was accepting the fact she was at the mercy of Mikasa. There would be no more need to fight.

They stayed there, just like that for a few seconds, Mikasa refusing to untangle her arms from Annie’s.  

“I'm right here, Annie” Mikasa whispered, her voice muffled by her hair. “I promise whatever you're going to tell me, I won't judge. I want to help you. But I can't if you won't let me.” 

There was a small noise and Mikasa felt fingers tighten around her arna again. Surprised, she felt Annie roughly pulling her closer. 

“Please don't say any more” she felt her whisper in her ear, and she felt herself freeze. “How can I even look you in the face after what I've done?”

“Annie...what are you talking about?” Mikasa immediately regretted her sentence as the arms around her dropped, exposing her to the ever blowing wind. She straightened her position so she was looking down at Annie, who continued to avoid eye contact.

_Look at me._  

“You don't understand Mikasa” Annie’s voice was quieter than usual, and Mikasa realized she probably wasn’t used to speaking. The smaller girl tilted her head upward, this time holding Mikasa’s gaze, the intensity held within those blue orbs making her want to shiver. “I've...I've done something selfish.” Annie's voice began to turn frigid, raising with each word. “All this time I've only been thinking about myself, my needs. That one day that we kissed - what was I doing? I let you believe an illusion, and now it's...it's happening.” Annie suddenly grabbed Mikasa’s hand. “You're gay aren't you?”  

Mikasa was speechless. Of all the things for the smaller girl to say, this was the last thing she expected. 

“I knew it. You don't deserve this. I tried to protect you from myself, but you don't listen!” Annie clenched her hand around Mikasa, and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. “Don't you see? All I can do is steal your happiness without giving back anything in return!”  

Mikasa felt something wet touch her arm, as tears began falling from Annie's face. The smaller girl’s voice got quieter and quieter, until Mikasa had to strain her ears to hear her above the wind. The final sentence made it out, just barely audible as the smaller girl glared off into the empty space ahead.“It’s a cruel world out there, Mikasa,” the blonde said bitterly. “The world...it’s not kind to people like me. I can’t expect you to understand. The only gay people you’ve seen are your brother and best friend. But in reality, people aren’t willing to understand you. They’re willing to dig their words into you like knives, cutting every single piece of human dignity you have just to make themselves feel powerful or better or whatever.” 

She drew a shaky breath, and Mikasa just stared at Annie’s face, her features crumbling into a rage that she’d never seen before. The way she was reacting made Mikasa believe there was something - someone - who’d made her this way. Believing the world was out to get her. That the only way to survive was to fight off anyone who tried to get close to her.  

“You don’t deserve that kind of life Mikasa,” Annie laughed, but it was unlike her. This laugh resembled a hint of craziness, sweeping the landscape with the twisted sound and making Mikasa shift uncomfortably. “I know what it’s like. I’ve grown from the hatred, and learned to fight by myself. But you…” She stopped laughing, and gave a cold smile, her eyes so full of misery Mikasa felt like crying herself. “Don’t have to live that kind of life. I want to believe that, so fucking badly. So please. Leave me alone, since I can’t live with myself knowing my whole existence is me feeding off of others lives.” 

Annie finished, and immediately let her hair fall in front of her eyes, hiding any signs of emotions that she may have been feeling. 

Mikasa on the other hand was physically and mentally breaking. Her limbs felt numb, her mind blank, but most of all her heart. Torn with the thought of Annie feeling like she was some abomination that was just caused pain to the people around her, when it was the exact opposite. No one should have to carry that weight.  

“Annie..” she reached out but Annie was already slapping her hand down before it could touch her skin. “Annie!” Mikasa said, more forcefully this time as she grabbed the smaller girl’s arms, and pulled them towards her.

“Let me the fuck go!” Annie screamed, but Mikasa had had enough of this. Silently, she wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, feeling the whole world start to fade as she held on tightly, despite the smaller girl’s struggles. “Why can't you leave me alone?” She sobbed, but Mikasa didn't reply. There was no need for her to answer that question, and Mikasa knew the other girl knew it too. 

_ Can you feel it, Annie?  _

She felt small hands curl on her sleeves, and she realized she couldn't pull away if she wanted to. Annie was hugging her back, and despite all the wrong that had just happened in the past few days, this moment where they were felt right. 

“Don't be silly, Annie” Mikasa whispered, her other hand reaching up to run her fingers through the blonde’s hair.  “I can't argue with how you feel right now, but I want to make one thing clear. I am living for no one else but me.” 

There was a sniffle, and Mikasa felt Annie crying again. But this time, the taller girl was able to offer all the support she could. 

“It’s something I want to see you do too,” She whispered. “Even if you think you are a monster, I promise I will do everything in my power to prove you wrong.” Mikasa slowly, broke their hug, and grabbed Annie's face, just like she'd done to her not so long ago. Blue eyes, brimmed with tears stared back into hers, but she didn't care. For it was the prettiest sight she'd ever seen, more mesmerizing than any of the photos she'd ever taken. “Annie Leonhart.” Mikasa pressed her head onto hers, counting each shallow breath the smaller girl drew until the started to slow, deepening little by little. “These ‘enemies’ you've created in your mind could attack you all at once. The world could hate you and turn on you if that is what you desire.” She gently pushed Annie's chin, so her face was inches from hers. She saw Annie's threat visibly swallow, and she almost smiled. This was the first time the smaller girl had shown her any weakness. 

Mikasa’s fingers curled around the sides of her face, gently pulling her forward with Annie showing zero restraint. She brushed her thumb over Annie’s cheek, drawing the tears that had been falling away from her crystalline eyes. 

Mikasa took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and breathed a final sentence in a voice so soft it almost vanished in the wind. 

_ “But I will always be on your side.”  _

 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

  

[ 6 Days Later ]

 

When Mikasa's alarm startled her at 7:45 am she didn't even have the energy to groan. It was Friday, and with the tournament at SHS was today, and she was beyond nervous. Not only was she playing with a substitute for her catcher, Annie, but her past few days were spent dipping in and out of the hospital, as well as trying to juggle all her school work for finals which were all very important. However, there was an important component missing to all this, and that was softball. With her sudden filled schedule, she’d had limited time to practice, and with the first game at 10:00, she was starting to regret not making more time to prepare. 

Needless to say, Mikasa was determined take down any team in her path. _ Their  _ path.

The Shiganshina High School Titans were done ‘playing’ around. This time, they were in for the win. 

Mikasa reminded herself over and over as she and all the other girls gathered in a circle, arms around one another. They did a quick pep talk before dispersing to the positions, each waiting for the signal to start the first game.  

Time flew as each game commenced, taking Mikasa by surprise. The SHS team was doing great, amazing even!

She made a mental note to talk to Zoe, who was just as good a catcher as any other person she’d ever seen. Nothing compared to Annie though.  

By the time it was 3:00, they’d managed to win ⅔ of their games, and the whole team was psyched up for the final match against the THS Beasts. When the news of the upcoming opponents reached the SHS girls, Mikasa already knew they had an advantage. She’d seen them play. And with the right accuracy, they’d be able to pull off the final game with the final win. 

This confidence surged through her veins as the girls made their way to the field and walked towards their positions. Mikasa felt herself smiling in the first time in days when Ymir gave her a wink and high five as she walked by. They could do this. 

THS was predictable, but not easy. The game had been going for 6 innings, and with the scores just about even Mikasa knew that she’d have to pull a miracle to ensure SHS’s win. She bit her lip as she stared hard into the eyes of the other team’s pitcher. 

_ Relax, Mikasa, _ she screamed in her mind, willing her hands to stop shaking, hating herself for being scared. But she was. All the pressure was on her yet again, and the whole team was depending on her to finish it off. She’d been fine the whole day until now. 

The pitcher waited for Mikasa to signalize the ok, but she couldn’t move. She was trapped with her own fear.

“Mikasa!” A sudden voice shouted, shaking her from her thoughts. 

_ What? Annie?  _

“Mikasa!” This time it was clearer, and she turned around, trying to see where the voice was coming from, but she couldn’t pinpoint its exact location.

_ Annie? Where are you?  _

“MIKASA ACKERMAN! DON’T THINK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE BUT WHAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU. DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE AFTERMATH!”

_ I can’t. _

“YOU CAN DO IT.”

_ Everyone’s watching. _

“FOCUS ON ME.”

_ What if I fail? _

“I BELIEVE IN YOU.” 

The voice was cut off as someone silenced it, but the message was clear. 

Mikasa swallowed, a new feeling rushing through her, hitting her with a force so strong she almost choked.

_ Yes. That’s right. I’m living for myself from now on. _

Her hands gripped the bat firmly, as she planted her feet into the surface below her. 

“I’m ready.” 

The pitcher gave a quick nod, and threw the ball straight at her with a speed that Mikasa could only compare to her own. But she was ready. Screams of people around her filled the field, but she ignored them all, directing her focus to goal ahead of her. Winning. 

She hit the ball, sending it soaring high in the sky and brushing the clouds, only to come crashing down. Her feet moved as if fire was beneath them, trailing behind her as each base passed. She could hear it now, cheers from the bleachers and standing applause as her right foot hit the final plate. 

“Mikasa! Mikasa! Mikasa!” Her name was chanted over and over again as she breathed, her whole body shaking, her mind having trouble rendering what had just happened. She’d done it. They’d won! Adrenaline surged through Mikasa's veins as she felt arms upon arms fly her way, high fiving her hands and clapping her on the back. Mikasa got a little warm burst of pride sink into her chest as she thought about it. Her team. The SHS Girl’s Softball Teams vicious battle against opposing high schools. The thought made her heart tingle. Their first win at a tournament that year, and it had all been thanks to the effort and collaboration of the team. And of course, that special individual who had pushed her to perform her best. Mikasa smiled at the thought.  

“Hey, Mikasa!” She heard her name and immediately grinned when she saw Levi, Eren, and Armin walk up to her. 

“Are you single? Because I want  _ you  _ to-”

Levi jabbed Eren in the side before he could finish his pick up line.

“What this block head means to say is congratulations ‘Kas. You’re amazing as always. And you managed to kick ass out there too,” Levi said, ignoring his coughing boy friend. 

“Thank you,” she beamed proudly, reaching out to hug her brother. She then turned to Armin, who hadn’t said a single thing to her since they’d shown up, and was now playing with his fingers. “You too Armin. Thanks for coming today.” 

The poor boy practically squeaked at the sound of her voice.

“T-thank you Mikasa. Good job today.”

Mikasa nodded and smiled when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Not wanting to be rude, she ignored it and continued to let her friends shower her with compliments.

“It's truly amazing to see you out there” Armin continued, his voice gaining confidence. “It’s like you have this thing where you can predict what the other team is going to do before it happens!”

It vibrated again, and this time Mikasa was annoyed. After she was sure Armin wouldn’t notice,  she pulled it out and was about to silence the damn thing when she read the single message that appeared on the screen. 

  _Out in the parking lot._

_ -A _

Mikasa nearly dropped her phone.

“...anyways , I think you’re simply the greatest, and you know uh, prom is coming up and what not -”

“Yeah thanks, I gotta go now sorry! Oh and I'll see you at home Levi!” She called as she pushed her way past Armin and the others, and dozens of people too. Murmurs of her name rippled through the crowd, but she wasn't paying any attention. She heard dozens of people calling her, but there was only one person she wanted to her her name called from. 

“Mikasa” she halted Coach Smith walked up to her, smiling. She knew better than to ignore her Coach, so she turned around only to get muffled by a big hug. “You've only seemed to amaze me, Mikasa Ackerman.” he said, and Mikasa struggled to breathe against his big build. “You're just as great, if not greater than Levi Ackerman himself.”  

Mikasa felt tears in her eyes.  _ Finally.  _

“Thank you, Coach.” She said sincerely, wishing she had the time to explain how much his words meant to her. But at the same time, she had something very important to do, and she knew if she’d stay there would be a long conversation that would follow. “I gotta go now, but I’ll talk to you on Monday!” She called before he could protest, running towards the school and trying to avoid the people outside on the fields. Her breath ragged, she burst through the gym, through the locker room and finally, to the parking lot. 

She'd made it. Panting, she scanned the lot for the familiar face she'd come to know so well but there was no one. Puzzled, she was about to start looking around when she heard her name. Her surname rather. 

“Ackerman.”

At the voice she turned around only to do a double take. Annie was standing in front of her in nothing but plain ripped jeans and a SHS hoodie, but in Mikasa’s eyes she looked as if she were a princess. 

“I wanted to congratulate you on the game. It was a memorable one.” 

“You weren't there” she shot back, and Annie chuckled.  

“I  _ was _ there, stupid” she smirked and Mikasa's eyes went wide. 

“You're supposed to be in the hospital!”

“Make me.”

“I-” Mikasa’s mouth hung open. “What will you tell the nurses!”

“Oh I don't know,” Annie slowly walked towards her, making her face warm without any reason. “I couldn't miss my girlfriend’s first big win of the season?”

Mikasa felt herself melting. 

“Just kidding,” she deadpanned, and Mikasa groaned. “But I  _ was _ there Mikasa. Remember?”

_ How could I forget?”  _

“Listen Annie,” Mikasa sighed, and grabbed the smaller girl’s shoulders and forcing herself to hold her gaze. “Thank you. I...I don’t know what i would've done without you there for me.” 

Once again, Mikasa felt her arms being embraced by smaller, strong ones as Annie buried her head into her shoulder.

“I could say the same to you Ackerman” Annie whispered. “I don’t think I’m ready to tell you everything. Maybe I never will, but knowing there’s someone always there for me is something I’ve never had before. Something I still need to get used to.” 

Annie pulled away gently, and Mikasa felt herself instantly want her back in her arms, wishing they could stay there forever. But she knew Annie was entitled to her own feelings. After all, that’s what she’d told her. 

“Which is why,” Annie grabbed Mikasa’s hand suddenly, and a searing hot feeling rose into the brunette’s body, taking her by surprise as Annie stood on her tiptoes like she’d done when they’d first met. “I’m willing to give whatever this is a try,” she murmured. 

Mikasa let out a little squeak, before soft lips were on top of hers, followed by a muscular body pressing against her own. Arms were wrapped around her neck, and Mikasa carefully settled her hands so they were planted on Annie's waist, her body responding to the smaller girl’s actions as if they already knew what to do. 

“I’m assuming you won’t resist,” Annie breathed, breaking away from the kiss. Mikasa didn’t respond, just closed her eyes as she leaned in, her mouth brushing Annie’s again, this time with a hunger which was threatening to overflow and take ahold of her. Her vision started to blur, but in a good way.

_ Fall, everything.  _

Her body, her mind, her heart. 

Every part of her was hopelessly falling for Annie. And now she knew the answer. Annie was falling too. 

 

She felt herself smile as she let her mind slow down to the point where she truly was focused on only one thing; the girl in front of her. 

 

“I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> SOOOOOOO what'd you guys think? The middle was the hardest for me to write since I wanted to really convey how both characters were thinking when they were on the roof top talking. Also if you're wondering what happened to Ymir, she mysteriously left ;) 
> 
> I hope you guys caught the little snippits of the original story in this chapter ( the whole titan thing/Annie's father's words/'Annie fall' sort of thing. 
> 
> But yeah, I love where this ends off and I'm pretty excited to write these next few chapters now that all of the really heavy stuff is out of the way. 
> 
> Thank you for reading All In! Let me know what you think :) 
> 
> \- Solar02 
> 
> ( Also the song is Stuck / the I Need U lyrics reference though )


	14. Playing With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the new relationship begins to blossom, Mikasa learns that there is more to Annie Leonhart than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So it's been a while, and for that I'm sorry. This past month has been crazy, I moved to a completely different country and as you can imagine, didn't have a lot of time to write :')  
> The title is from the kpop song, and I'll do some more explaining at the end of the chapter.
> 
> Thank you for reading All In!

_ [Flash Back] _

_ The world was spinning, way, way out of control. Everything was happening too fast, Mikasa unable to do anything but press herself violently against Annie, praying that what was happening wasn’t some cruel trick of the mind. That it wasn’t something she was imagining.  _

_ But no.  _

_ This was  _ real.  _ She had finally followed her heart instead of her instincts, and look where it got her. She felt happier than she had in forever. _

_ “Mikasa,” Annie whispered, breaking away from one of the many kisses the two had shared. “We better stop...we can’t….” _

_ Mikasa kissed her again. _

_ “Stay here.” _

_ Another kiss. _

_ “Mikasa!” Arms suddenly were on hers, pushing her away. Mikasa’s shoulders stung. _

_ “What is it?” She clenched her fists. Annie was the one who had made the first move! “Are you...Have you changed your-” _

_ “Jesus fuck Ackerman,” Annie exclaimed, grabbing her hands. “I’m sorry for being weird, it’s just...I can’t have anyone seeing the two of us right now.” _

_ Mikasa’s eyes widened. “But you’re out aren’t you?” _

_ Annie sighed shook her head, her fringe falling into her eyes, just begging Mikasa for her to push it away. She didn’t.  _

_ “I am,” she reasoned, once again not meeting her in the eyes. It drove Mikasa crazy, knowing that Annie wasn’t telling her something. She looked up, a pained smile on her face. “Just there’s certain people who I can’t have know about this” she waved towards Mikasa, who hadn’t moved ever since Annie had said something. _

Her words make since _ , she reasoned, trying to push the hurt away.  _ After all, I know there’s a lot she isn’t telling me. But now that she’s mine, it’s only natural for me to want to tell people.

_ Arms draped over hers, pulling her closer so they were inches apart. Annie quickly looked around them, and ducked behind her car, pulling Mikasa with her so they were hidden from sight.  _

“ _ Listen, Mikasa,” Annie carefully grabbed Mikasa’s chin and lifted it towards hers. “I want you to know that I...well shit, I’ll just say it now. I like you Ackerman. I like you a lot, but I’m also terrified. I don’t want a single bastard to lay a hand on you or I-” she bit her lip, and Mikasa felt her left hand squeeze her right. “I won’t forgive myself. You understand, right?” _

_ Mikasa nodded slowly, pushing her forehead against Annie’s. She didn’t want to tell her that she was fine with defending herself. This was Annie’s battle to fight.  “I understand. Thank you, Annie.” She felt the smaller girl relax next to her, the building tension seeming to slowly rise from her body like steam, and disappear. “Could I tell just one person though?” she asked hopefully, and she physically felt Annie tense up again. _

_ “Who?” _

_ Mikasa played with her fingers, pulling away from Annie so they were both staring at one another. “Well you see,” she chuckled nervously. “I have this friend….you know Ymir Fritz?” _

[Present]

Biggest. Mistake. Of her life.

Mikasa knew her friend liked to gossip, and upon knowing this, Ymir was the absolute last person she should've confided with about Annie. She'd told her friend about it the night before, and in less than 24 hours, news had seemed to magically spread from Ymir to Levi to Eren. 

That morning when she woke up, right away she wished she could go back to sleep. It wasn’t like her to be so negative about getting up, but her dreams were far too pleasant these days to be interrupted. In fact, her life at the moment seemed to feel like a dream. 

_ Annie. _

Over and over again, without change. Mikasa couldn’t help it. It was the very first time she’d ever felt such a strong connection with someone in her life. Which had kept her wondering - had she always been gay? She’d never really thought about it before, but when was the last guy she’d liked?

_ Eren, back when you were kids _ , she flinched at the thought.  _ Before he came out as bi sexual.  _

“”Kasa!”  

She shook herself from her thoughts, trying to rid herself of the memory. She sat up, pulling the sheets from her body and opened her door, only to be pushed aside as her brother barged into her room.

“What the hell Levi” she groaned as he sat on her bed, but he wasn’t listening. Instead, he grabbed a pillow from her bed and put it in his lap, forearms leaning comfortably on the bedrest. “Why. Are. You. In. My. Room.”

He just sighed, as if she’d just asked him why he was breathing. After a few, painful seconds he finally broke the ice between them. “So you’re not going to tell me anything?”

“Why would I have anything to tell you.”

“Stop playing. I know, ‘Kas.”

She raised her eyebrows, but Levi just continued to gloat over her and it was pissing her off

“Well I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she shouted exasperatedly. “Now please, get off of my bed and get the fuck out of my room!”

“Geez, since when did you start cursing?” A pillow hit Levi in the head. “And being so violent?” This time a shoe. “And so secretive?” Mikasa growled and clenched her fists in frustration. As a last resort, she finally threw dirty laundry towards him, and to her delight, her brother yelped, standing up from the pile of clutter now scattered on her floor. 

“Ok, ok I’m up,” he muttered, and Mikasa just stood there, hands crossed over her chest. “Now what I was  _ trying _ to say, before I was viciously attacked-” he glared at the brunette who glared right back. “Was Ymir told me that you and Annie are like, what, a ‘thing’ now?”

Her anger disappeared just like that as Mikasa felt her heart drop to her feet.  _ Shit. _

“What?” she spoke, but she knew it was too late, her moment of hesitation giving it all away. She was caught red handed, doing the one thing Annie had told her not to.  _ Tell people. _

All of a sudden she felt a pit in her stomach, growing bigger and bigger as the silence droned on. She knew Levi was waiting for her to continue, but she didn’t want to say more than she already had. Although she had yet to know as to why Annie was so paranoid about being open with their new relationship, she did know she had to respect that. But now she’d just broken whatever pact they’d made. Mikasa bit her tongue, feeling like a fuckup when she felt her brother’s hand close around her wrist. 

“Listen Mikasa,” he said kindly, but with a trace of another emotion hidden underneath. “I’m very, very happy for you alright? I think that it’s amazing you’ve finally come to terms with yourself but….”

Mikasa froze as she waited for Levi to dare say something. A new feeling washed over her, as her regret was replaced with anger and hurt. Of all people, her brother had to understand her. But the way he was talking made her think otherwise. 

“Why Annie?” he muttered, and before he could say anything else, Mikasa had already slapped away his hand. 

_ Why Annie? _ She thought angrily. _ What is Levi saying, talking about her like she’s a bad person or something.  _

“Get out.” She said coldly. 

“Wait, Mikasa let me explain-”

“I DON’T WANT TO FUCKING HEAR IT LEVI” She screamed, physically pushing Levi out of her bedroom. She knew her brother could easily turn around and try to fight her, but he wasn’t to her relief. Fueled by anger and confusion, she shoved him out of the door, locking the door and shutting out her brother’s pleas from outside.

She was mad now. Why was her brother being such a jerk about Annie? And what was it to him about who she dated - she didn’t always enjoy Eren all the time, but she didn’t give Levi shit about it.

Hurt, she picked up her phone and found Ymir’s name before calling her friend. She picked up, right away of course. When her friend answered, Mikasa felt her annoyance only rise.

“Hey ‘Kas, could you call me back in like, 45 minutes or something?” her friend asked, her voice barely audible behind the roar of sound behind her. “Crap Symmetra needs my help-”

“Take your hands off the PC for a second,” she growled in the phone. “This is important, Ymir.”

Mikasa wanted to grab her friend by the throat as she heard sounds of gunshots in the background. “You told Levi about me and Annie.” Silence. “YMIR!”

“Ok, ok I’m sorry,” her friend whined. Mikasa heard Ymir said a few apologies, probably to the people on discord, and then there was silence. “Well, I’m going definitely going to get a penalty for that.”

“Look, I’m sorry for interrupting your game ok” Mikasa said curtly, not truly meaning it. Ymir played video games like her life depended on it, one leave from Overwatch wasn’t going to end her life. “But this is serious. I strictly told you not to tell anyone about me and Annie.”

There was silence on the end of the line, making Mikasa’s skin crawl. 

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not.”

“I am! Look, it’s just…” there was a sigh on the other end.

“You don't respect me or something? You went from encouraging to what, lying? You swore you wouldn't tell anyone!”

“Jesus Mikasa could I please speak?” The brunette gulped at the sudden outburst of her friend. “It wasn't like I had a choice ok? Listen, you're not gonna like this but...Eren saw you. And hell, he's pissed.”

Mikasa swallowed and let her friends words sink in. Pissed? 

_ Why on earth is Eren pissed with me and Annie?  _

“Tell Eren to go fuck himself then” Mikasa growled, anger threatening to spill over. “He has no right to control me or my actions.”

“Hey now, I don't want you two to fight-”

“I'm sick and tired of having to try to make people happy Ymir! For once, I'm doing what I think is right and everyone jumps on me - Eren, Levi - even you Ymir!”

“I didn't have a choice-”

“You could've lied!” 

Mikasa let herself pause to take a shaky breath, trying to regain any bit of calmness she had left. She could hear Ymir doing the same. 

“Mikasa,” Ymir began and the brunette felt the urge to hang up, but what her friend said next made her decide against that. “Eren isn't pissed at your relationship - well actually he probably is - but more importantly, he's pissed at Annie.”

Mikasa swallowed hard. “But they don't even know each other.”

“That's not true.” There was a sigh on the other end of the phone. “Listen, I’m not 100% sure on all the details, but I can say this. Eren has some dirt with Reiner and Bertholdt from like, years ago. You're probably wondering what this has to do with Annie right?”

Mikasa didn't say anything, her head still trying to wrap around this new information. From what she knew, Eren and Annie had absolute zero interaction, and although Reiner and Bertholdt went to SHS, since when was her brother’s boyfriend hanging around them? 

“Well, if you remember, Reiner, Bertholdt and Eren all went to the same elementary school and were all inseparable, best friends,” Ymir continued. “They'd all had this plan or something to go to the same middle school together and play on the boys volleyball until one day, Reiner and Bertholdt told Eren they were going to Reiss Academy. You can imagine Eren was upset. They hadn't told him until the last day of summer vacation too, and damn that was cold.Throughout Middle school, apparently Eren’s Dream was to defeat them in volleyball, and prove to them he was stronger without them or something.”

“What does this have to do with me and Annie?” Mikasa demanded. Another grunt.

“I'm getting there ok? Reiner and Bertholdt were both amazing volleyball players, and so of course that just pissed off Eren even more. It was until freshman year they were enemies, but then in the middle of last year, both Reiner and Bertholdt left ReissAca to come back to Shiganshina and return to public schools. And what are the chances that a few months after them, Annie shows up? Eren is still angry with Reiner and Bertholdt for lying to him, and well, he told me he doesn't trust Annie. Even now, he still considers Reiner and Bertholdt enemies even though they’re playing on the same side now.” There was a pause, and Ymir took a deep breath, as if she knew what was coming next would piss Mikasa off. “He said he thinks they're all conspiring to get back at him, and they're using Annie to try to get you in on it too.”

Mikasa almost choked as Ymir finished her last sentence. This was so stupid it was comical. 

“Bullshit.” Mikasa confirmed, trying not to giggle, but the stupidity of Eren’s logic was too much, and soon she was downright laughing. She waited for Ymir to join in with her and agree that what Eren was saying was absolute nonsense, but she didn’t. “You know that right? Eren is just being a baby and needs to grow up and stop living in the past.” Mikasa hissed, confused as to why Ymir wasn’t saying anything. “Reiner and Bertholdt can do whatever the hell they want, and Annie barely talks to them, or anyone for that matter.” She took in a deep breath, and waited for her friend to reply, but the end of the line was oddly silent. “Ymir? Oh my god… you don’t...agree with him do you?”

Mikasa heard rustling in the background, like her friend was playing with her hands, trying to figure out how to word everything. “Listen ‘Kas, I think Eren is still angry at Reiner and Bertholdt for breaking their promise and it’s making him say stuff he doesn’t mean. But you gotta admit...Oh, I don’t know Mikasa. You think Annie doesn’t talk to anyone, but jeez I’ve seen those three together a lot.”

The brunette didn’t reply, her mind twisting with the new information and sudden possibilities. There’s no way Annie was planning on hurting her brother. She knew her. But the more Mikasa thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t exactly know everything about Annie Leonhart, other than she was an amazing softball player and she was in love with her. Beyond that was a haze, like Annie was trying to steer her further and further from the truth by distracting her with this new relationship.

_ What are you thinking about Mikasa Ackerman! _ She shook her head, shame pulsing throughout her body.  _ I swore I wouldn’t make Annie tell me anything until she was ready to. Besides, screw Eren. His shit is between Reiner and Bertholdt, not Annie. _

“Why would Annie have any connection with them?” Mikasa dared ask, hating how her voice was brimming with uncertainty. “And how do you know it’s her talking with them?”

“They went to ReissAca together for many years, plus they come from the same, rich background so they are sort of similar. Eren thinks they’re just trying to turn you against him and then try to humiliate him or something, personally I think he’s paranoid but I don’t even know anymore. Also of course it’s Annie. How many other 5 ft. blonde girls are there at SHS?”

Even though Mikasa knew her friend couldn’t see her, she felt herself slowly nod, her brain trying to adjust to all this new information. She thanked her friend and hung up, her hands heavy as they fell against her forehead. Her life felt like a rollercoaster, going up then down then high above the clouds only to come freefalling back to reality. Her life wasn’t meant to be easy. 

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

By the time Sunday rolled around Mikasa’s head was utterly fried. Between studying for finals and thinking about the conversations she’d had the other day, she was certain her brain was at full capacity. So when her brother started talking to her about prom, she held up her hand before he could even continue. 

“C’mon ‘Kas, it’s senior year!” he called after her as she shut the door. “You should really go this year - and hey if you’re worried about a date I know someone who’d be  _ thrilled _ to-”

“I’m not going Levi” She interrupted, throwing her trigonometry textbook against her door to shut her brother up. “Now get lost, I have to study.”

She waited a few seconds before she heard a mutter, and footsteps growing further and further away. 

_ Finally _ .

Peace. 

Mikasa bit her lip, feeling a bit bad about lying. She was just so exhausted with life, and the thought of putting one more thing on her overfilled plate sounded like a nightmare. She knew she was a senior, who’d never gone to prom once in all 4 years of high school. Now was her year. And she actually had a potential date! 

Which got her wondering - who was Levi even talking about? There was only one person she loved. 

_ Maybe Levi is taking Eren’s side with this stupid ‘theory’ and that’s why he keeps refusing to see Annie as more than a friend. Ugh.  _

The whole situation hadn’t left her the whole day, even as she studied she felt her mind wandering to what Ymir had told her. She could sort of understand why Eren was still angry at Reiner and Bertholdt for breaking their promise ( and ending their friendship ) but what would drive them to want to get back at Eren? Other than him being an egotistical smart-ass, Eren wasn’t a hateable person. He was incredibly agile and wasn’t too bad at school either, which made Mikasa wonder. Maybe Reiner and Bertholdt had their own views on the trio’s split. 

Mikasa decided one day she’d ask Annie - another person bothering her thoughts. Could Annie have something against Eren too? 

Mikasa groaned, her head throbbing when she felt her phone vibrate. Normally she’d be annoyed at herself for leaving it on vibrate, but when her interface lit up she changed her mood.

It was from Annie.

_ Hi. U free? _

Mikasa immediately set down her pencil and began texting rapidly. 

_ Ya.  _ She replied, forlornly looking back at her trig book.   _ U? _

_ Same. Wanna do smthn _

Her heart fluttered.

_ Like what?  _

_ Dunno. I have a car so I’m down for wutever. Just not my house. Ever. _

The brunette felt her lips purse. It wasn’t that she wanted to go back to Annie’s cold, eerily quiet house, but the way the blonde was so adamant about it was strange. Sure, her house was boring and Levi would most likely be hungover, but she’d never be so secretive of her own home.  _ Is she hiding something? _ Mikasa shut that thought the fuck down, hating herself for even questioning Annie’s integrity. 

_ I get it _ she answered, even though she really didn’t.  _ We could meet @ Rose Hill?  _

_ I’d love that _

_ Ok then. See u at 6?  _

_ U bet  _

Completely forgetting about her doubt in the smaller girl, Mikasa set down her phone. Sure Annie clearly didn’t want to be seen in public with her, but whatever ‘this’ was sure sounded like a date to her. Mikasa could hardly sit still. The whole rest of the day was spent with her listening to music and trying to clear her head as she watched time slowly tick by. Annie. She was seeing Annie for the first time since they’d shared that kiss and admitted to liking each other. Her overthinking mind made her worry like crazy; would it be awkward? What would they talk about? The thought of being alone with her made her anxious, as she thought about the situation she’d be in soon. 

By the time she had to leave the house to meet Annie, her mind was officially all over the map, her heart picking up speed as she arrived at Rose Park. As she walked up the hill, she counted her foot steps, trying to take her mind off the task at hand, and when she finally reached the top, she counted 1,018 steps. She looked around, confused when she didn’t see Annie, but just as she was about to reach for a phone she heard a familiar voice. 

“Mikasa. Over here.”

She turned around, and swallowed hard. Annie had on faded ripped jeans on and a hoodie, the tips of her fringe blowing softly in the wind as if trying to escape. Mikasa clenched her fist, keeping it from reaching out and brushing back the stray hairs. 

“Hi,” she replied awkwardly after a few seconds.  _ Say something you idiot!  _

“Let’s sit down,” Annie said, pointing to a nearby clearing not far off. Mikasa nodded and felt her breath hitch as she felt a small hand enclose around hers.

“What happened to no PDA?” she joked, regretting her words as Annie looked down, refusing to make eye contact. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that-”

“About that.” Annie interrupted. She let Mikasa’s hand go, and took a step back, creating distance between the two. “That’s why I’ve come to to talk with you today.”

“So this isn’t a date - I mean, uh,” Mikasa swallowed. “You know you don’t have to if you’re not ready-”

“I know that,” Annie sighed.” But this is my decision and I’ve decided I don’t want to hide anything from you, Mikasa.” 

The brunette was lost for words and didn’t respond as the smaller girl led them to the clearing, where they sat down next to one another. The sun was just barely visible against the tall city background, just a few of the city lights reaching the rose tinted clouds. The sweet smell of spring blew through the peak, and as they sat down next to eachother, Mikasa realized they were sitting on small little flowers. Violets. 

She’d been too caught up in the surroundings she’d almost forgotten about the love of her life sitting next to her. She dared a look, peering out of her eye and her heart sank. Annie wasn’t looking in her direction, her eyes focused on something beyond the city, and the mountains that surrounded it. 

“I want to escape this life,” she whispered. Mikasa wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear that, but she pretended she didn’t, waiting for Annie to expand. “I hate this place. I’m fucking trapped by these stupid mountains-” she turned to Mikasa, her blue eyes blinking every few seconds as if blinking back tears. “Have you ever felt that way? Trapped between your duty and your own free will?”

“I guess I’ve imagined it. Life after high school. It seems nice, finally being able to leave Shiganshina City and visit the world.” Mikasa confessed. But even as she said those words, she knew that her and Annie’s lives were completely different. That the blonde’s desire to escape was far more complex “But it’s also terrifying you know? Shiganshina is all I’ve ever known, and well...college is scary. It’s a big step from the life I’m used to living.” She paused as she felt an arm wrap around her, her heart fluttering. 

“What if we escaped together?” The smaller girl whispered, and Mikasa didn’t reply. In a perfect world, she would say yes and they could run off into the sunset, but the brunette knew better than to think it was that easy. She knew Annie still had dirt here that needed to be taken care of. Annie knew it too. 

“So what was it you were going to tell me?” she asked, hesitating before easing into the smaller girl’s gentle embrace.  _ Is Annie's heart beating fast too? _ Mikasa wondered, before chuckling silently.  _ I must be imagining things. After all, this is Annie… _

“I felt bad the other day,” Annie whispered, her grip tightening. “Listen...I want you to know that I love you ok Mikasa?” she paused, and Mikasa swore she saw a warm color rise to the blonde’s cheeks. “Which is why I need to explain to you the danger of being with me.”

“If there's any danger, we can overcome it together” Mikasa replied firmly, but Annie shook her head. 

“You don't understand, Mikasa” she muttered, her arms slipping from the brunettes waist and falling to her sides. The warmth from Annie's body left Mikasa and she felt her instantly want her back. “Eren doesn't like me, does he?” A sad smile stretched on Annie's face, her eyes set off into the distance.

“What do you mean?” Mikasa asked, knowing the answer. Sure, she'd heard Eren’s side of the story, but now she needed to know what Annie had to say. 

“He thinks I'm going to hurt you.”

“Well then he's full of bullshit.”

“Or maybe he's right!” Annie shouted, and Mikasa shut her mouth. “You've only seen one side of me, Mikasa. But there's another side, one that I never want you to see. I’m not perfect, but there's a certain thing that I haven't told you about which is why I… I need to tell you now. Before we have this relationship go on any further.” Annie took a deep breath as if trying to calm herself, and Mikasa could tell she was scared shitless by the way her hands were clenched together.

“I’m listening, Annie,” she whispered, meaning every single word that left her mouth. “Please. Let me hear.”

“I don't want you to think I'm someone I'm not,” Annie began. “I can't protect you from everyone, but I'll do everything in my power.”

“Protect me from what?”

“Eva!” Annie said, her voice shuddering and Mikasa's blood turning cold at the mention of Annie's stepmother.

“What did she fucking do to you?” Mikasa demanded, but Annie just shook her head before burying it in her arms, refusing to look at Mikasa. The brunette didn’t push her. She knew how much Annie was carrying, even if she refused to let anyone else know about how hard she was struggling. As much as Mikasa wanted desperately to help her, to save her, she knew that she couldn’t. Not without Annie making the first move.

So she waited. Minutes passed as they sat in silence, Mikasa trying hard to control her urge to storm into Annie’s house and give Eva what she deserved. 

“When I came out...it was ugly,” Annie said suddenly, slicing the silence between them. The way the smaller girl drew her breath sharply like that made Mikasa already brace herself for what was coming. Nothing but the truth. “It's not that I expected her to welcome the thought of her imperfect daughter being a lesbian with open arms,” Annie continued. “ But the reaction I got really messed me up. There used to be a time when I could turn and talk to my father about anything, knowing that no matter what I said, he’d always be on my side. But now my father is a drunkard who can't handle life anymore, so he wasn't any help. He just stood there, as Eva verbally abused me.” Annie paused, and Mikasa realized she’d fallen completely stiff ever since the blonde had started talking. Her breath caught in her throat, she was having trouble breathing. “You ok, Mikasa?” Annie asked. She didn’t reply. “I knew it. I should’ve never told-”

“It’s not that! It’s just...jesus Annie, when I think about what you’ve been through I lose my words...I can’t imagine having to live with that sort of cruelty,” Mikasa bit her lip to keep her jaw from quivering. 

“I know what it sounds like,” Annie replied, her fingers tying tightly around the brunette’s. “But the rejection from my family and their friends only made me stronger. After that night, I shut myself off. All through middle school at ReissAca, there was only one thing keeping me going; I had a plan to make it to the end of the year and then run away. From my responsibilities, from the hate. To just turn my back on the life I’d always known and run far off into the distance.” She paused, wistfulness written all over her face. “This however, was impossible for me, since I was just a trust fund kid with cruel parents and an obscured look on life. I hated the world so much for putting me through this. For taking my mother, and basically my father, for trapping me in a world full of hatred, where the only escape was my mind, and the fabricated happiness I surrounded myself with. It stayed bad like this for a while, until I reached my third year of middle school. I was at an all time low, cutting, taking sleeping pills, and even some testosterone to make me feel stronger. I would stay up until 2 am every day and skip school. I was so miserable, I couldn't even think straight - it was like I was watching myself go through the motions of living without actually living, you know? This way of life became the norm for me. I never went home after school, always stayed late and pretended I had clubs, even though I wasn't in any. That's when I met her.” The smaller girl stopped and brushed her hair from her eyes. “ Her name was Nanaba, and when I met her last summer she was going to be a freshman. She was perfect. Beautiful, intelligent, playful. But more than that, she was there for me. She saved me when I couldn't save myself, and I loved her. I really did. One day, however, I made the stupid mistake of taking her to my house. It was a mid July evening, and we'd both stolen some alcohol from her parents, so not knowing where to go, I took her to my house. I thought My parents were gone that night, so we went up to my room and shut the door. We didn't do anything really, just kissed and made out on my bed. I was so caught up with the moment, finally feeling happy that I didn't realize the sound of footsteps until it was too late.” She stopped mid sentence, as if recalling the memory was too painful. 

“The moment I was about to pull Nanaba’s shirt off, Eva walked in and basically lost it. I couldn't do anything about it either. All I could do was watch as she kicked my girlfriend out - she even threatened to call the police! And of course she had to say a whole string of nasty remarks to Nanaba. That night was the night my relationship with her ended. I went back to being lonely again, but I never lost hope that on the first day of freshman year, she'd be waiting for me. I was stupid. She left. Gone, like nothing had ever happened. I didn't get a text from her or anything, just a letter from my teacher who said she'd left the country to some place far from here. I was confused at first. Like why would she leave me? And at the time, I guess I hadn't wrapped my head around the fact Eva had something to do with it. The way she acted that night, I have no doubt in my mind she forced Nanaba’s family to move away from me.” Tears fell from Annie's eyes, streaking her pale face with clear droplets, her eyes reddening. Mikasa felt as if her heart had been stitched up only to be ripped apart again, as Annie turned to her, staring into her soul with her crystalline eyes. 

“You see Mikasa?” Annie whispered. “You don't know me. Even if I let myself believe, just for a second that this will work out, all I can do is think about what Eva did to Nanaba. When Nanaba left me, I was furious, I was angry, but most of all, I was also sad beyond belief. At the time, I’d only been thinking about myself, and how my heart had been broken by an uncontrollable force, but now I realize the truth. Nanaba never wanted to leave me. She was forced too, and I’m sure the unexpected breakup tore her in two. Which is why I’m scared Mikasa.I care for you too much. If she dared to anything to hurt you, I swear I'd...I’d…”

Mikasa didn’t want to hear another goddamn word as she threw her arms around Annie.

“I won’t let that happen to us,” she whispered, as she felt Annie cry beneath her. She felt the waves of sorrow and anger leave Annie’s body as she held on tightly, stroking her head and caressing her body. Mikasa stayed with her until the sobs were reduced to sniffles. She felt Annie’s body shaking, so she pulled her closer, planting a kiss on the smaller girl’s head. “I don’t care what that bitch has done in the past. As long as I have you, I know that there’s nothing I can’t overcome.”

Mikasa swallowed, and prayed that her words were true, repeating them over and over as she continued to comfort Annie. They stayed like that, watching as the sun disappeared behind the buildings. The rest of the evening was fleeting, the fuchsia sky fading into violet, and then to the dark, night blue. She sat with Annie as stars began to dot the sky, filling the once dark void with small speckles of light. The two talked for a bit longer, but avoided the topic of Annie’s past. 

_ This will do for now,  _ Mikasa thought as she silently studied Annie’s face. She knew damn well there was still secrets behind the calm face, but at least she knew why Annie was afraid of Eva finding out about their relationship.  _ If it’s for Annie, I’ll fight the whole world if I have to.  _

“It’s getting late,” Annie said softly, interrupting her thoughts as she stood up. Mikasa blinked in surprise when the smaller girl held out her hand for the brunette to take. “Don’t just sit there. C’mon. I have something to give you.”

Mikasa nodded as she took Annie’s hand, noting how her fingers seemed to interlock with her own right away. She eyed the smaller girl in curiosity as she reached in her bag, rummaging for something.

“Turn around and close your eyes,” Annie commanded, and Mikasa obeyed quickly, her curiosity only growing as she waited patiently. She flinched a little as she felt small fingers brush her neck, followed by an unfamiliar soft feeling. 

“There.”

She opened her eyes, and when she did, Annie was standing in front of her with her hands on Mikasa’s chest. She looked down and realized Annie had managed to wrap a scarf around her, and she was holding the end of it, staring into Mikasa’s eyes. The brunette reached up and touched the fabric, noting on the velvet like texture and the deep red color.

“What’s the occasion?” Mikasa asked, and Annie just shrugged. Mikasa felt a tang of disappointment, but quickly brushed it off as she felt Annie gently tug on the tassels of the scarf.

“Do I need an occasion to give my girlfriend a present?” Annie murmured, and Mikasa felt her face warm at the sound of the word  _ girlfriend. _ She never knew a single word like that could make her feel so complete. As she felt Annie’s fingers tighten around the end of the scarf, she knew what was happening. The smaller girl was trying to draw her in for a kiss, but Mikasa was faster, and soon the two were drawn together again, as fire met ice, swirling together into something more beautiful.

_ ❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀ _

When Mikasa pulled her car up to the house, she clapped her hands on her face to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She brought her hands up to her neck and smiled as she felt the soft fabric brush against her fingers, reminding her of the person who gave it to her. She opened the door, not even bothering to see if Levi was home. On her way to her room, she made a conscious effort to kick her brother’s door, sighing when there was no reply. When she got into her room, the first thing she noticed was the big vase of flowers on her desk. 

_ Who would’ve done this? _ She wondered as she curiously approached her desk.  _ Levi sure as hell wouldn’t.  _

As she got a closer look, she realized the flowers were lilies, their pale petals spread wide and emitting an entrancing scent. She looked for a note, but there was none. Shrugging, she was about to put the delicate flowers on her window sill but as she lifted up the vase, something came fluttering to her feet. 

Surprised, she lowered to the ground to pick up whatever had fallen. A small, single envelope had tumbled out from underneath the vase. As she opened it, her hands trembled with anticipation. Prom was coming up. Could Annie have possibly….?

Her eyes widened, as she squinted to read the small, neatly written cursive font. As the lines turned into words, she felt her heart drop.

_ Dear Mikasa, _

_ I want to see you. Please meet me on the school’s roof, tomorrow. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Armin.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew I hope that wasn't too rushed it's been a while ^^;
> 
> We got some conflict going on here now because PROM IS COMING UP ( btw the lilies aren't his promposal ok they're like a pre-preposal xD ) 
> 
> So back to the title:
> 
> In this chapter, I sort of referred Annie and Mikasa as "Ice and Fire", as both elements are very different from one another, yet compliment each other too ( thats what I had in mind ). The term playing with fire refers to how Mikasa is being split in all directions, with one side warning her about Annie and the other drawing sympathy.   
> At this point, I don't know where the story is going, all I can say is Eva watch your back. 
> 
> \- Solar02 
> 
> Please comment I need inspiration :(


	15. Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin does something that shocks Mikasa, and Eren begins to unravel the mystery of Annie's secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no write - So much has happened, I've been busy with starting a new school and moving, and haven't had enough down time to continue this story. It's getting long though, and I hope to wrap it up in the next few chapters. 
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me and this story,
> 
> Happy reading :)

Mikasa’s footsteps felt heavy as she made her way up to to the school rooftop. Over and over she’d played the situation in her head. She wouldn’t go to prom. There was only one outcome for all this, and the one she’d created in her head made the most since. She turned the corner, down the familiar hallway and pushed through the emergency exit door. She counted the steps. 12, 24, 48….

 

“Mikasa?” She swallowed hard.

 

“Armin,” she dared look up, and faked a smile. Armin was standing in front of her, wearing crisp khaki shorts and a white button up shirt with a red rose tucked in the breast pocket. But it wasn’t his outfit Mikasa was looking at. He had a nervous smile on his face, the one that he always wore around everyone. Or so she thought. Her brother had hinted around that Armin might've had a crush on her, but she’d been so oblivious to guys she hadn’t noticed. Now though, standing in front of her, she realized. Armin didn’t just have a crush on her. He loved her - which was more thousands of times more terrifying. “It’s a nice day out today, isn’t it?” 

 

“Mikasa,” Armin ignored her question, taking a step forward. Before realizing it, Mikasa felt herself step back, kicking herself at the hurt look on Armin’s face. She was about to apologize when Armin suddenly turned around, not motioning her to follow. Feeling guilty for rejecting his advances, she quietly trailed behind him. 

 

_ Where is he going, _ she wondered as she followed him, when she realized where he was taking her. Her favorite place in the whole entire school was going up at staring off into the distance, watching the sky and how the clouds moved across the clear sky. Today however, it was 5:30 AM , so instead of looking up into pristine blue, she and Armin were looking into orange tinted. It was beautiful, she had to admit. The way everything around them seemed to sparkle with a natural beauty, the way the sun was lightly brushing the clouds with it’s warm rays. Something was missing though, something Mikasa couldn’t put a finger on. 

 

“It is really beautiful,” Armin commented, making Mikasa flinch. She’d forgotten she wasn’t alone. “I love watching sunrises you know? Coming up here while the whole city is sleeping still. There’s something so calming about watching the sun peak up from beneath the mountains. I love it,” he sighed before pausing. “What about you Mikasa?”

 

“I’m more of a sunset person,” she blurted. She knew she’d said the wrong thing. Armin was hoping for her to agree with him, and comment about how the sunrise was so beautiful. But in her mind, she enjoyed sunsets more than sunrises. There was nothing more Mikasa loved to watch, than the sun disappearing behind the mountains. Knowing that with sunset, it brings a new day. A clean slate. 

Suddenly realizing where she was, she quickly replied, “Sunrises are beautiful too. It’s just I like taking photos of the sky and find evening skies make the perfect shot. I’m also not a morning person so-”

 

“If there’s something you want to say just say it!” 

 

“What?” Bewildered, Mikasa turned to face Armin who was leaning over the edge of the railing, staring down at the ground. “About the sky or-”

 

“I know you, Mikasa. I’ve known you forever, so well, I know when your not being honest.”

 

“About what?!” 

 

Suddenly arms were on her shoulders, shaking her violently and causing her to lose breath.  

“You know why I called you up here,” Armin sniffed, and Mikasa realized he was crying.

_ Shit.  _

“There’s someone else isn’t there?” he muttered, his arms loosening on her shoulders. Mikasa quickly broke away, taking a step back away from Armin. “Just tell me who it is. I know there’s someone else you’re waiting for to ask you to prom.

Mikasa swallowed visibly, as Armin pulled the red rose from his white pocket, and chucked it over the edge of the building. 

“JUST FUCKING SAY THE NAME!” 

Mikasa knew what would happen, just as she saw the fist come up towards her face, she grabbed the wrist and twisted it behind her back, ignoring the shout of pain that followed it. 

_ I have to get out of here. _

Careful not to break the poor boy’s arm, she gave one last shove away from herself, brushing off her fingers as Armin grabbed his right arm and wheezed. Mikasa knew he may be able to outsmart her, but when it came to physical action, he couldn’t hurt a fly.

“I just don’t understand, Mikasa,” Armin moaned, clutching his arm. “Why won’t you talk to me? I’ve always been there for you. Holding your hand in Elementary school, and walking with you and Eren on the first day of high school. I’ve always fucking loved you, but you always push me away!”

The brunette clenched her fists. The last sentence the blonde boy said made her blood chill, for she had said the same phrase to someone not so long ago. 

“Just please….tell me who it is,” he murmured, and suddenly punched the ground, making Mikasa flinch. “I need to know who has your heart, so I can at least sleep tonight knowing if I’m better than the bastard or not.”

_ Don’t do this, don’t do this. _

“You see, Armin,” Mikasa toyed with her female titan keychain on her phone, reading to run at any moment.

_ Don’t do this.  _

“There is one person who I think I love…”

“What’s his name?”

_ DON’T DO THIS.  _

Mikasa sighed, before taking a deep breath and steadying her hands. The female titan fell from her fingertips as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Her name is Annie Leonhart.”

She waited for his response, but to her surprise he didn’t give her one. Just continued to stare into the ground. At first Mikasa just figured he was shocked to find out she admitted to liking a girl, but sudden body language made her realize otherwise. She took a few steps back, her hands reforming fists for any sudden movement, when she heard laughter. Cruel, sick laughter.

“Annie,” Armin chuckled, covering his mouth like she’d just said a hilarious joke. “Annie...Annie!” Mikasa felt the urge to look away, as the blonde boy doubled over, clutching his side. His usual calm face no longer held its normal state, and had twisted into a horrible grimace. “Oh Mikasa, no wonder you’re acting so weird today.”

“And what do you mean by that?” 

“Do you have any idea what Eren thinks of that girl?” he demanded, a maniac screech left his mouth. “I bet you don’t - so go and ask him! She ruined his life ever since he started playing volleyball against ReissAca.” His voice continued to rise, and this time she did cover her ears. “She’s a cheater and a liar!” He shouted at her, and Mikasa whimpered as she felt a hand slap her face. “You know what she did? Every fucking game she’d do something to mess up Eren’s game play, weather that be putting something in his food to make him sick to switching his shoes and making him fall during a game. Wanna know her worst deed? She anonymously texted Eren’s mom saying someone was going to kill her!”

“No,” Mikasa whispered, her hands over her ears, blood rushing through her ears. “Annie wouldn’t do that.”

“Well if you love her so much, clearly she’s not telling you everything,” Armin roared. “She’s evil, Mikasa! A lying whore who betrays people - and look! Sooner or later you’ll be hurt too. You think she loves you back but just you wait, she’ll stab you in the back only to laugh as you wither on the ground-”

“SHUT UP!” Mikasa screamed as she drew her fist back, this time not caring where her hand landed. Her heart withered as she felt her hand make contact with something hard, her stomach churning as she felt something warm splatter her hand.

A feral noise erupted from the smaller boy slew out curses and held his gushing face, blood pouring from where Mikasa had planted a blow. The brunette was panting, gasping for breath when she pulled her blood-stained fist away from his face. 

_ What happened...I…. _

“Just you wait Mikasa,” he repeated, looking a thousand times scarier with his bloodied face and stone cold eyes. All traces from the pure and innocent boy were gone. “That girl will use you and throw you away for her own ambitions. You’re just going to suffer. But if you come with me, I can save you from that. I can make sure that twisted bitch never comes near you again.” He suddenly thrust a hand forward, fresh blood dripping from his fingertips. Mikasa just started at his outstretched hand in disgust, not feeling a drop of sympathy for the sniveling creature in front of her. She was more shaken by what he’d just revealed to her, and the fact that she’d just punched one of her best friends. 

_ But now we can never go back to the way we were.  _

“I think you’re the one that could use the saving here,” she said coldly, brushing her soiled fingers against her pants. She took one last breath before turning around and sprinting towards the door, pushing through and running quickly down the stairs, tears falling hard from her eyes now. She did her best to wipe them from her face, but they just kept coming. But they weren’t from sorrow. They were from rage.

She started up her car, it’s engine roaring to life as she pulled away from the school and onto the street, not caring that she was going high above the speed limit. 

She needed to get away from here, to go anywhere, as she tried to block the images of Armin’s pure white shirt stained with blood

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Practice always was long, but that days practice felt especially tiring. Mikasa and one of the JV girls were about to do a pitching and catching drill, when all of a sudden she heard a startling cry of pain coming from behind her. She turned around, and immediately dropped her softball, letting it hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Annie was clutching her side, her left hand covering her eyes as she lay on the dried dirt field. 

“Give her some space” Ymir snapped at some of the JV girls who’d come to see what had happened. Mikasa watched as Levi began gathering the crowd and pushing the JV girls back towards the other side of the field, meanwhile the varsity girls all stood over Annie, concerned looks and whispers breezing through the air.

“Annie? Annie can you hear me?” Ymir was repeating, and to Mikasa’s relief, she saw the smaller girl’s lips moving. Annie’s hand slipped out of her catcher glove and her fingers found her way into her messed up blond hair.

“Sorry,” she muttered, taking Ymir’s hand. “I’m fine-“ but the moment the smaller girl took a step to stand up, pain flashed onto her face, and she immediately fell back down. “Shit…”

“I can help,” Mikasa volunteered, shouldering her way to where her girlfriend was sitting. The brunette swore she saw a hint of pink hit Annie’s face, as the blonde tried to protest. But Mikasa was already wrapping her arm around her neck, and she shot Ymir a grateful look as she took Annie’s other arm. 

Ymir turned around, and nodded towards Levi who was still standing there. “You guys can carry on practice as normal,” she said, but Mikasa held up her hand. 

“No Ymir,” she said softly. “I think that you’d better stay here with the girls. They need you.”

A look of confusion flashed in her friend’s dark eyes, before Ymir tilted her head forward. 

“Whatever you say, Cap’”, Ymir murmured as she slowly let go of Annie’s other arm, allowing Mikasa to readjust. “Alright!” the taller girl announced turning around. “While Mikasa helps Annie to the nurse, we’re going to be doing conditioning circuits until the end of practice.”

There was a collective amounts of sighs and groans, but aside that, no one else seemed to complain. 

The brunette turned her focus from the team, and towards the girl in front of her. Mikasa knelt down, so she could slip her right arm underneath the smaller girl, who shifted uncomfortably as she lifted her off the ground. 

“Seriously Mikasa, put me down!” Annie protested, but Mikasa wasn’t having it. 

“Sure. And let you embarrassed yourself in front of the underclassmen? I think not.”

“I can walk!” Annie snapped, as she grabbed Mikasa’s shoulders and roughly attempted to pry herself out of her embrace. “I-I don’t need to always rely on you Mikasa. I can...can…” Annie’s voice trailed off as pain flashed in her eyes. Mikasa didn't say anything about it, knowing it would only make her girlfriend more defensive.

_ Annie really doesn’t want to be seen as weak,  _ Mikasa thought silently as they walked up the stairs, and to her relief, felt the smaller girl finally relax.  _ I guess that's kind of cute. _

They walked in silence after that, allowing Mikasa to sit with her head, and the events of the previous day. Dread pitted her stomach - she’d managed to avoid Armin completely that day, but she had accelerated calculus with him the next day. There was no way to avoid him then. The thought of having to see him face to face was enough to make her nauseous. She definitely did not believe everything he had said, but still… the part of how Annie had a past with Eren was what was really bothering her. When Annie said she thought Eren didn’t like her… was she hinting at all the things she’d supposedly done to himt? Without even telling her? Mikasa couldn’t imagine why Annie would possibly be so bent up with ruining Eren’s volleyball career - she didn’t even know they’d known each other! And Armin had said that Annie did nothing but hurt others - the exact thing Mikasa had tried to convince Annie she wasn’t capable of doing. 

When Mikasa finally refocused her vision, she realized they were standing in front of the nurse’s office. The entire walk, Mikasa had completely spaced out and forgotten where they were, but it seemed they were in the right place. Mikasa knocked on the door with her left hand, careful not to put pressure on Annie’s body in the process. A voice called for them to enter, and Mikasa stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Good evening,” the woman said, who was behind a desk. Mikasa blinked. She’d never seen this woman before - she looked a few years older than her, no more than 20.  _ She must be a student teacher, _ Mikasa thought. The woman turned and smiled, her face bright as the sun. “How can I help you two?”

“Actually, it’s just her,” Mikasa replied, gently setting Annie down on one of the cotton beds. The nurse looked at her expectantly, and the brunette hastily added, “Softball injury.”

“Oh, I see. Let’s have a look at you then.” Mikasa watched as the nurse began to ask Annie a series of questions, all of which the blonde either answered ‘no’ or ‘I don’t know’. Just as Mikasa was about to drift off into the depths of her mind, the nursed said, “Alright. Thank you for escorting Miss Leonhart to my office, but I’m afraid I will have to ask you to leave, for the privacy of the student.”

_ That’s right. Annie’s side was what got hit.  _

“Oh,” Mikasa answered. “But I’m her -” Annie shot her a warning look, and Mikasa bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m her friend,” she finished lamely. “And I uh, I just want to make sure she’s ok”  _ stop rambling Mikasa.  _ “Anyways I’m sure you’ll do a good job fixing her up!”

“Thank you,” the nurse smiled politely. Mikasa wanted to sink into the ground and dissolve into thin air she was so embarrassed. What was wrong with her today? After the awkward silence that lasted for too long, she quickly stood up and gathered her belongings, heading towards the door. She took one last look behind her shoulder, where her eyes met Annie’s. Mikasa silently mouthed ‘call me’, and Annie gave a slight not of her head. It was time to go, but the brunette couldn’t let herself pull her eyes away from Annie’s - it seemed the blonde girl couldn’t quite either. Mikasa eventually forced herself to break eye contact, and turn the other direction just as the nurse pulled Annie’s shirt above her head. 

That was enough for Mikasa to bolt out of the room, the door closing slowly behind her. She was walking so fast, she was sure both of them could still hear her footsteps as they hit the tiled floor. 

_ Oh  _ was all Mikasa could think, her cheeks burning. She sped by random lockers, wandering aimlessly as soon as she was a fair distance from the nurse’s office.  _ What would I have seen if I’d stayed there a bit longer… wait what am I saying? _

Mikasa felt embarrassed, her face warming. “What is wrong with me?” she muttered out loud as she opened the door to her car. She decided to take the long way home, weaving between unknown neighborhoods and city streets. After she’d avoided her house for as long as possible, she finally turned into the gas station when she saw a familiar face that made her heart stop. Armin. 

_ Shit. _

Mikasa stepped on the gas, and revved her car up, turning around and zipping back from the way she came. When her car safely pulled into her driveway, she finally sighed in relief. Somehow, she’d expected to see Armin’s old bmw following her but when she craned her head looking from side to side, she saw to her relief the streets were clear. 

“I’m home,” she muttered, dropping her backpack on the sofa. The house was empty, but as soon as she climbed the stairs, she noticed her Levi’s lights were on. Without thinking, she rapped on his door, before barging into the room. She quickly covered her mouth and gaped, as Levi was on top of Eren, with his shirt off. His ab muscles glistened with sweat. 

“Fuck!” Mikasa yelled, and dashed back out to the hallway and shut the door. 

“I told you to knock” her brother’s stone cold voice growled back. It was filled with annoyance, but something else too. Levi’s gruff voice was out of character, filled with lust. For Eren, of course. 

“I  _ did _ knock,” Mikasa snapped back. “You just couldn’t hear me because of  _ that. _ ”

The brunette was about to say more, but suddenly the door flew open, and Levi’s hands were on her shoulders. 

“Shut the fuck up, ‘Kasa” he glared into her eyes, digging into her soul. But Mikasa was far too used to that for it to have any effect on her. 

“I’m not stopping anytime soon. Not until you put your shirt back on.”  _ And your pants _ , Mikasa added in her head. 

Exasperated, Levi released his grip on her, but continued to glare into MIkasa’s eyes. He crossed his chest and uttered, “What do you want.”

“Nothing that concerns you.”

“Playing difficult isn’t going to get you anywhere. Speak.”

“Fine,” Mikasa sighed, before inhaling. “I want to speak to Eren. Alone.”

“Wrong time ‘Kas,” Levi sneered. “As if he wants to talk to-”

“Actually, I would,” a sudden voice from behind Levi spoke. Mikasa took in a bit of satisfaction at Levi’s shocked face, as his boyfriend stood up behind him and began walking towards the door frame. To Mikasa’s relief, Eren had the decency to put on his clothes. 

She bristled as Levi turned around, and began talking to Eren as if she couldn’t hear him. Something along the lines of, ‘don’t let her make you do anything you don’t want to’. 

“I appreciate you Levi. All of you. But I think there’s something I need to discuss with Mikasa,” Eren replied calmly. The brunette stared at the floor, as she watched Eren plant his lips on her brother’s. She couldn’t care less about the fact they were together. But her envy of how their relationship was so simple, so open was enough to make her blood boil with jealousy. 

_ Why can’t my relationship be so simple? _ _   
_

She’d been staring at the floor so intently, the impact of Levi pushing past her almost knocked the air out of her. She watched as his figure sulkily went down the stairs, before disappearing from sight. She bit her lip. Mikasa had planned on asking Eren his side of the story, and the past between him and Annie. She wanted, no, she needed to know what was being kept from her. For once, she just wanted to be in the know. Yet everything was happening so fast, and Mikasa realized she had no idea what she was going to say. 

“So,” Eren began, disrupting her thoughts. “We should...we should talk.”

He motioned her into Levi’s room, which was an odd feeling, being allowed to enter a part of her own house. She nodded silently, as sweat made its way to her palms. She followed Eren, who led her to sit on the messed up bed. One look at the wrinkled sheets and hand-fulls of tissues that were scattered about made Mikasa opt to sit on the ground. Her hand touched something slippery, and when she looked down she quickly reeled her hand back from the slick butt plug.  _ Who knew Levi had owned all this? _ She thought, slightly taken aback. Eren seemed to follow her gaze, and was completely flustered. 

Mikasa wiped her hand on her jeans, before turning to Eren, who still looked embarrassed. The brunette took the opportunity to open the floor to her favor. 

“You seem reluctant to talk,” She started, and immediately Eren’s eyes shot up from his fingers to her eyes, burning with a determination that only he held. 

“I know why you want to talk with me,” Eren sighed. “Why else do you think I’d let you interrupt...what was just going on?”

“Because you’re the better half of my brother?” Eren looked shocked for a second. “Or so I thought.”

“What makes you say that?”

Mikasa inhaled, and played with her fingertips. “Listen...don’t get mad ok? I already have enough people mad at me.”  _ Armin, now Levi… if Annie finds out I’m doubting her, she’ll be mad at me too…. _

“Armin told me what happened that day,” Eren spoke softly. Mikasa immediately sat up straighter. He’d been told. Which made her next moves that much more crucial.

“So he did, did he.” 

“Yeah,” the boy suddenly lifted himself from the bed, so he was sitting next to Mikasa, face to face. “He also warned me you were  _ highly _ defensive of that girl.”

The way Eren described Annie as ‘that girl’ made MIkasa's blood chill. 

“Eren,” she said slowly, trying to maintain her emotions and keep her face muscles lax. “That girl is my girlfriend. Annie is my girlfriend.”

Eren’s brown eyes bore into hers, making her fidget with anxiety. The look he was giving her was enough to make her want to run away, but she remained planted there, in Levi’s room. 

“Maybe you’re not ready to hear my side of the story,” Eren said. “Blinded by love. It can happen to anyone. But when you are, I have a lot to say about that girl. And Bertholdt. And Reiner.”

“Don’t call me blind. I know Annie,” Mikasa retorted. “She would never keep anything from me. Heck, she wants to protect me. And I know if there was anything she wanted to tell me, she’d tell me the truth. Always.” 

A slow, sad smile made its way to Eren’s lips, filled with pity, but also another emotion. Fury. 

“Well maybe its time to wake up, and start viewing the real world for a change.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, I switched gears from Annie trying to protect Mikasa, to Mikasa yet again discovering Annie is hiding more secrets. Including the fact that she and Eren have some dirt with each other. I'm not going to spoil anything, but as a preview, Eva is going to have a pretty significant role in the next chapter, if everything goes as planned. 
> 
> Please comment and let me know what you think of All In!
> 
> \- Solar02
> 
> 12/21/17
> 
> (P.S it's almost New Year so I might to a special chapter! )


	16. Promise Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa brings all of her friends together as an attempt to negotiate peace, with the unexpected help of a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys. 
> 
> So. It's been OVER A YEAR. That seems like forever right?  
> All I can say is I took a big hiatus due to school, and lack of motivation. But after a long debate over whether or not I should continue, I decided I want to finish this story, no matter how long it takes. 
> 
> With that, thank you so so much for continuously supporting this story.   
> Please leave comments and/or suggestions, as it all helps contribute to the overall piece. 
> 
> Happy reading :)

Mikasa nervously fiddled with the Female Titan strap on her phone, and continuously kept her eyes dead set on the entrance to the softball field and quickly made sure Annie was ok. The smaller girl hadn’t said much since Mikasa had asked her to speak face to face with her brother’s boyfriend for the first time in 5 years. While Annie hadn’t denied her request, Mikasa knew she wasn’t exactly thrilled either. 

The words her girlfriend had said to her the other night still refused to settle in her mind. 

_ “I’ll do what I have to for you, Mikasa.”  _

Although the sentence was a bit assuring, something rather unsettling about that phrase was worrying her now. Shivering, Mikasa realized she was just as nervous as Annie was for this conversation to go down. For she too, had a lot at stake. The brunette knew she was treading on thin water, even bringing Annie into the picture that day but it had to be done.

“You nervous?” Annie asked suddenly. Mikasa turned to look at her, but realized the blonde wasn’t looking at her, but rather the setting sun over the hitting cage. 

“Of course I am!” Mikasa sighed. She let go of the Female Titan, and instead intertwined her fingers with Annie’s. Normally, her girlfriend would tear her hand away and insist they were being too open, but today it seemed neither of them wanted to let each other go. “What about you, Annie?”

The smaller girl didn’t respond, didn’t make eye contact. Instead, Mikasa felt the grip on her hand tighten, which confirmed her notion that Annie was indead nervous. But one look into her crystalline blue eyes, and Mikasa knew it was more than just that; the smaller girl was scared shitless. 

“I love you, Anne” Mikasa whispered softly into Annie’s ear, and used right hand to brush the hair out of her girlfriend’s eyes. “No matter what happens, I promise I’ll always stand by y-”

“Yo.”

The moment was over. Both girls looked up to see Eren and Levi, and to Mikasa’s surprise, Armin and Ymir too. Suddenly, she felt cornered and visibly felt Annie tense up next to her. 

“You wanted to see us.”    
  


_ [Earlier]  _

_ After her conversation with Eren, Mikasa couldn’t sleep. She left Eren’s room without another word, and could hear Levi pop open a beer bottle downstairs. The brunette walked back to her own room, and collapsed on her bed. Something needed to happen, and she knew it. Somehow, she would need to get everything sorted out and managed, or else her entire world would fall apart. The division between her brother, her best friends, and her girlfriend were tearing her apart, and she couldn’t stand it anymore.  _

“But how do I...how do I do it?” _ Mikasa groaned, as she opened her phone and paused over a new text from the last person she thought would ever talk to _ . “Krista….?” 

Hi Mikasa,

It’s Krista. I’m sure you’re confused why I’m texting you. 

Well here’s the thing, something is going on between everyone that I don’t know about. Ymir won’t tell me anything, and Armin has been really down lately too. Eren seems angry all the time, and Levi takes way too many smoke breaks - it’s unhealthy!

What I’m trying to say is everything seems out of whack and I think it’s time something changes. 

Prom is coming up, and I want all of us to go together as friends. 

But lately it seems everyone has something against one another.

I want to help, but no one is telling me what is going on. 

Please Mikasa I’m begging you let me help with this

  * Krista



_ The brunette read and reread the message over and over again. Krista. The sole sweetest person in the entire universe that would never hurt or talk bad of anyone. What perfect timing.  _ Perhaps, _ she thought, _ I can use this to my advantage. 

_ Mikasa was smart enough to know Levi and Eren wouldn’t listen to her, and Armin certainly wouldn’t talk to her. But Krista… If Mikasa could just get her to rally up their friend group and sit down together, maybe this shitshow could come to an end.  _

_ And they could focus on getting rid of the real problem; Eva.  _

_ She thought fast, and within an hour Mikasa had put together a scrappy plan that included all members involved. Krista would tell Eren to meet her in the cafeteria after school ( without Mikasa of course ) to talk about prom plans. However, the time would be strategically set 10 minutes before the School locked up and kicked all students out. Krista would then lead him to the park/softball field behind the school, and see Mikasa. No one could ever argue with sweet Krista, and so the smaller girl would lead the rest to the softball field to talk. Mikasa would have Annie there, and the whole group could figure out everything else after that.  _

_ It would be an highly risky with a big chance of failure, but she would have to try. Mikasa knew if she let anyone else outside of her and Krista know what was happening it would be chaos, and most likely no one would show up.  _

I’ll have to do this carefully _ Mikasa thought silently, biting her lip.  _ For the sake of the people I love.   
  


Krista, 

There is actually something you can help me with, but it’s too complicated to explain through text. Wanna meet up sometime and talk? 

I think I have a plan for getting everyone back on the same page but I can’t do it without you

You in?

  * Mikasa



_ MIkasa drummed her fingers on her bed anxiously. Krista had to say yes, she  _ needed _ her to say yes.  _

But Krista is such a sweet girl  _ Mikasa thought, putting her head in her hands.  _ What if I’ve made a mistake? What if she doesn’t want to come with me and enter this crazy scheme of mine if it means destroying her good reputation amongst the rest of us? How can I do this to her?

_ Suddenly her phone buzzed and Mikasa nearly dropped it.  _

“This is it,” _ Mikasa shut her eyes, and unlocked her phone. One new message. Surely it was from Krista. Taking a deep breath, she opened her messaging app and read over the message; collapsing with relief a few seconds later. _

Hi

If it means everything can go back to normal

I’m all in 

  * Krista



_ The brunette sat there for a while, in the dark, letting the thoughts of her own mind sweep her into a deep trance.  _

“Back to normal….” _ she murmured, her left arm over her eyes. A big pit in her stomach started to grow, as she slowly realized that going ‘back to normal’ would be impossible. Not with graduation coming up in less than three months. Eren, Levi, Ymir, Armin...they’d all leave Shiganshina City for sure, and….who knows where they’ll go after? _

_ Mikasa suddenly felt sick to her stomach, at the realization that everything she’d ever known within the trapped walls of Shiganshina City would eventually burn down, and all her friends would leave.  _

I can’t worry about the future right now. All my focus needs to be in the present. 

_ Mikasa stood up, and turned to her nightstand for a glass of water when a gust of wind entered her room, scattering her papers everywhere on the floor. The moon shone deeply, and Mikasa smiled at it’s pale light. _

“Normal huh? As if life in here were ever normal.”

_ Mikasa then flipped off her lights, knowing tomorrow would be the decider of whether or not things could remain as they once were.  _

[  _ Present _ ] 

Mikasa started to panic. She and Krista had agreed on bringing Eren field, but why the hell were Ymir, Armin, and Levi there? The brunette felt a force so strong on her hand she was sure it would be broken the next day. 

_ Where was Krista? _

Her question was answered, as a few seconds later the blonde girl popped out of nowhere, with a sheepish smile on her face. 

“I know we agreed only those two but...I thought everyone should be here to hear this too,” she chuckled nervously. There was a painful silence between the seven people that lasted what seemed like a millenia. Mikasa tried to study the reactions of her friends - Eren was easy. He looked about ready to explode. Armin and Levi on the other hand looked emotionless, and Ymir looked bored. Krista looked nervous.

“You two did this?” Levi said suddenly, a hint of anger in his voice. “Krista I appreciate your attempt to bring us all together again but it won’t work. Too much has changed and you should -”

“It was my idea” Mikasa blurted. Suddenly all eyes were on her, and she knew she needed to speak quickly, before anyone stood up and left. “Listen, I know I should have told you guys what would be happening today, but lately we feel so out of sync and I knew….if you all knew what would happen no one would show up. I didn’t mean to force into something you didn’t want to do but this needs to - no - has to happen today. Before Prom, before anymore of this can get out of hand.” 

“I agree with Mikasa,” Krista stood up and turned to the group with a determined look on her face. It was almost unbelievable that she was the same timid girl who often cowered behind Ymir. “Our friend group used to be so tight and now...I don’t know what’s happened to it but it needs to be fixed.”

Eren sighed, then stood up, anger blazing in his eyes. “It's not that simple you two,” he shouted, and Mikasa swallowed. This wasn’t good. “I know you guys just care for us but face it - there’s history between all of us, and every bad thing that has happened leads back to one cause. Her-” he rudely jerked his hand to Annie, who seemed smaller than ever before. 

“I have things to say too Eren. I have done many things I have regretted in this life of mine. Why do you think I tried to - to end my life so many times?” her voice shaking now, Mikasa felt Annie release her hand, and stand so that she and Eren were face to face, like the entirety of the circle didn’t matter anymore. “You think I haven’t cried over the countless times I’ve given in to...to her...I just…”

“You’ve said enough,” the brunette whispered swiftly grabbing her trembling body and attempting to stable it. Mikasa glared at Eren. “This is exactly why this needs to happen. Don’t you dare deny it.”

Eren’s gaze faltered for a second, flickering between Mikasa and Krista, then Annie. “Fine,” he mumbled and sat down. “I’ll give you five minutes to convince why I shouldn’t hate you for the rest of my damn life Leonhart. It better be good.” 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Mikasa and Annie drove silently on their way home, neither having nothing to say after the conversation with the rest of the group. The brunette swore her heart was still threatening to burst out of her chest, just as it had been a few hours ago. Truthfully, the conversation went better than planned. Eren’s idea of a ‘five minute discussion’ went far beyond that, to a three hour long conversation involving everything from Annie’s stepmother, to Eren’s father, and to Mikasa herself. The brunette shivered at the thought. According to Annie’s point of view, Eva had a destructive obsession with perfection and would stop at nothing to achieve it for as long as Annie had known her. Her story still rang in her ears. 

“ _ I could feel it as soon as my father introduced me to her, back when I was only a few years old.”Annie recalled. “As a child, all I wanted was my mother back - or at least someone who cared deeply for me, as much as Papa did. I loved him too of course, but losing my real mother was too much for me. When Papa met Eva, I could see how happy she made him. He would tell me stories of this beautiful, charming, caring lady he’d met one night that mysteriously swept him off his feet. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to meet her. I’d always thought Papa would’ve told her about me, his daughter but….he didn’t. Rather, he’d only told her he had a child, as he claimed Eva didn’t like talking personal things. So when she saw me, it was…hate at first sight. I don’t remember it too well, but I think that...I think she tried to strangle Papa. She was furious for him leading her on about having just a ‘child’. She assumed I was a boy. Eva is traditional, and therefore her perfect idea of an ideal family would be a single son to support the family. She would cherish that son, make it known to the world that he belonged to her. But when she saw me, it was like I was a curse, sent to her by hell. And she hated it.”  _

Annie was driving, which allowed Mikasa to collect her thoughts. Eva had never loved Annie - of course. No wonder she treated her as if she was a nuisance, like it was her fault for existing. The thought of anyone putting the smaller girl down for anything at all made the brunette’s blood boil with anger. How could anyone blame a child for being the wrong gender? It was criminal, especially to a girl who barely even knows who she is yet. 

When Annie first told her this, Mikasa assumed that Eva would be glad her daughter wasn’t a typical girl, who played piano and did ballet. That she would be happy Annie took little interest in conventional activities, and wanted to play softball, a more masculine sport. But she was wrong.

_ “Since I wasn’t the child Eva had dreamed of, she was dedicated to shaping me into the perfect daughter - even though she made it clear on a daily basis, I was her last resort. She would have me wear skirts to school, and forced me to take up Piano lessons and ballet up until eighth grade. And until then, I never bothered to argue with her. As long as she made Papa happy, I didn’t care what I had to go through with. For the sake of his happiness, my unhappiness was something I’d give up a thousand times over. I still would, but…”  _

_ Everyone had looked at her expectantly, with different emotions forming on their faces yet still, no one else dare spoke.  _

_ “I found out Eva was messing with him to,” Annie’s voice had faltered. “She never loved him either, just as she never loved me.” _

_ “Then who the hell did she love?” Levi spat in disgust. “Was she married before? Did she have kids of her own? Was she some heartless monster who roamed around without a conscious?” _

_ “She did love someone,” Annie whispered, turning to Eren. Mikasa had never seen her brother’s boyfriend look more pale in her entire life. “I heard her say his name in her sleep once. Grisha. Grisha Jaeger.”  _

_ The whole world felt as if it had stopped moving. _

_ “What the-”  _

_ “The reason why Eren has always been a target by the Leonhart family is...is because Eva was in love with him, and still is.” Annie’s ice cold eyes took the full hit of Eren’s blazing green ones, like a battle between the two most powerful forces intertwined within the same story. “Eren, I’m...I’m so sorry about that day, when I threatened your mother.” Annie was crying now, her eyes welled up with tears that refused to fall. “Eva had come to my room that evening. This was months after she forcibly kicked my former girlfriend Nanaba out of my life and… she seemed genuinely interested in my life for the first time. And I cracked, I  _ fell  _ for her lies. It was the night before the final volleyball tournament and I was angry because Nanaba used to play volleyball, and was a manager of Eren’s team. I was so, incredibly angry at everything, and...I was mad at her. I knew how much the team meant to her - she would do anything for it. But it had been weeks since she’d last texted, and everything was falling apart. So I wanted to hurt the team. It felt like the only way I could get back at something, anything, for everything I’d been through. Not like she was there to see it anyway but I felt I needed to do it. So Eva convinced me to anonymously blackmail the entire team into forfeiting the competition, even though they were in the lead. And I trusted her. I would never forgive her for kicking Nanaba out of my life but, at the same time I was too angry at her to see what I was doing clearly. She said “focus on tomorrow Annie. I’ll take care of the rest.” _

_ “So the rumors are true!” Eren exclaimed, pointing a finger at Annie. “It was you who...who said you would kill my mother.” his fists were shaking with contorted rage. “I came home that day with my mother collapsed on the couch crying, and my father trying to calm her down. That was the more infuriating day of my life. And when I decided I could never forgive the bastard who dare do that to my family.” _

_ “Eren wait-” _

_ “I’ve heard enough of  this bullshit” tears were falling from his eyes too now. “I don’t care what your stupid mother has with my father but she’s the one who needs to die!” _

_ “Eren” Levi said sternly. The older boy grabbed his face in his hands, and shook it rather violently. “Listen to what Leonhart is saying. She isn’t siding with her mother, she’s siding with US Eren with us.” _

_ “But my-” _

_ “I know how much you treasure her. But I want Annie to finish the rest of what she’s saying, before we jump to anymore conclusions.” _

_ The entire group froze, as Eren slowly slid back into place, still trembling with anger.   _

_ “Thank you,” Annie nodded to Levi who stared back at her giving away no emotion. “Eren I never wanted to hurt your mother. But I didn’t know that was what Eva had meant when she said she’d take care of the rest. It was only when I heard the rumors that I realized what had happened. She had lied to me about emailing the entire team. She’d only blackmailed you - or rather your mother - to get back at your father for rejecting her. Your father, Grisha, is the love of her life. It broke her heart and mental health when she found out Grisha had a wife, and a son. It was everything she wanted. So she watched, as your family built their walls around their perfect lives, and she was cast outside. She tried so hard to get what your family had. A loving family, a child. But she failed. I was her son instead, and my father...she used him to try to get back at Grisha. To show him how much he’d missed out on, by choosing your mother over her. When she was done with my father, she grew tired of him, and I think she started getting him hooked on alcohol. She changed my father before my eyes from a loving person to a complete stranger. And that gets us to where we are now.” Annie looked up, her face full of fear. “I don’t know what to do anymore. Eva still is targeting you Eren, and...and my father’s health gets worse every day. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore, I just….I want you all to know that, and if I’ve ever hurt you in the past that I’m sorry!” _

_ Mikasa watched, her own shock seeping into her. So this was the truth. Annie was only doing what she needed to do, to protect what little part of her family she had left. She was clinging onto that dream that her life was normal, and her family loved her. Love. She only ever wanted to be loved. And Eva had taken advantage of that, to use her vulnerability for her own twisted desires. To get back at an old crush - Eren’s father. It was no wonder the two always seemed to be at one another’s throats. History between people they couldn’t control forced both Eren and Annie to be on different sides. _

_ But now that the truth is out….  _

_ “Hold on. There’s just one thing that doesn’t match up with this” Armin looked deep in thought, before turning to Annie. His face wasn’t filled with anger, but rather confusion caused by his own overthinking. It wasn’t too friendly either. “That’s your side of the story but what do Reiner and Bertolt have to do with this? I know for a fact it wasn’t just you operating by yourself to try to go after Eren. What is Eva’s connection to those two?” _   
  


Trees were whizzing past the car now, and the brunette knew Annie had picked up speed. Mikasa still couldn’t wrap her head around why Reiner and Bertolt agreed to help Eva with her plan to get back at Eren. What could the two possibly have against Eren? Annie said she had no idea they were involved, as they were her friends and wouldn’t tell her anything to prevent from hurting her. The smaller girl said she’d lost contact with them, after she transferred to Shiganshina High School, but Mikasa still worried of their connection to the stepmother. 

“So it's over, huh” Mikasa offered, trying to rid herself of her overwhelming thoughts. She gave her girlfriend a shy smile. “For now anyways.”

Annie didn’t reply for a long time, her eyes set on the road ahead. “Mikasa, I’m afraid...I’m afraid it’s never truly over. Not until we get rid of Eva for good.” 

The sternness in Annie’s voice was surprising to the brunette, but she took it as a good sign. At least it sounded somewhat hopeful. 

“I know we will get her back for everything she’s done.” 

“But how Mikasa? How can we do this, I couldn’t stop her and now everyone knows and they want to help me and I-”

The smaller girl suddenly screamed, as the vehicle took a violent turn to the right. Loud noises rang through the air, as she slammed on the breaks trying to stop the churning vehicle. They were falling now, spiraling downward into oblivion. When the commotion finally stopped, and both girls opened their eyes they were no longer on the highway, but in a field. Tall willowy grass covered most of the car, making the area around them unrecognizable. It seemed it was only them, the stars, and the moon’s soft glow surrounding them.

“What the hell was that for Mikasa we could’ve died mmph!” The brunette took the small of Annie’s face and pressed her lips hard against hers, enjoying the look of shock before she felt the blonde’s mouth melt onto hers. She took no time wriggling out of the seatbelts grip, and climbed over the seat so she could straddle Annie’s waist. Annie didn’t protest, and kissed her girlfriend back just as passionately. Suddenly Mikasa was aware of the little space the car offered, and how hot she suddenly felt. Annie grabbed Mikasa’s shoulders, and yanked the brunette on her so their chests were touching. Mikasa could feel the smaller girl’s heartbeat, flickering rapidly just as fast as hers. She could feel every inch of the smaller girl’s body too, every curve and muscle beneath those bothersome clothes. 

_ If I could just get rid of them… _

“Mikasa I-I can’t yet,” Annie stammered, breaking the steamy kiss and gasping for air. Her cheeks were flushed, and her pupils were dilated. She was definitely turned on. Mikasa tried not to feel hurt, and convinced herself it was because of what had happened. Now that the truth was out, Annie needed her more than ever to support her, not to force her perverted feelings on her. 

“I’m sorry I got carried away and...I just wanted you to know I’ll always be here and I love you and-”

Annie gently kissed her again, this time with more gentleness than the brunette thought she was capable of. “I know, Mikasa. You’ve been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I owe my life to you,” she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I  _ do  _ want you...all of you. That body of yours too.”

Mikasa chuckled. “You were never the best at words were you Anne.”

“Shut up!”

There was a short pause, before both girls started laughing. Mikasa buried her face in her girlfriend’s hair. This was enough. They would be enough. And this new confusing world they were about to create, would surely be enough. 

\----------------------------------------------------------

“I’m not sure about this Krista,” Mikasa shouted reluctantly over the excited dressing room chatter. “You really think I can pull off this look?”

“But of course Mikasa! With your boyish figure, nothing would suit you more. Oh, and excuse the pun!”

The brunette sighed. She knew a ‘girl’s night out’ with Krista and Ymir was a bad idea. It was a week after their conversation with Eren, Levi, and Armin. Mikasa knew for certain that her brother’s boyfriend still felt uneasy around Annie, but for both Krista’s and her sake, he promised to let all past history not affect their night at prom. While Krista was over the moon with happiness, Mikasa was still a bit worried. Eren was prone to holding grudges, but after what Annie had explained to all of them, she knew he hated the smaller girl slightly less than before. Which was a big step to begin with.

Which was led Mikasa here - stuck in a tiny room with a single mirror, and a pile of expensive dress suits. Although the brunette had told Krista Levi had a closet full of old suits he would let her borrow, Krista had insisted Mikasa needed to start branching out from “Levi this, Levi that.”

_ Perhaps the girl knows me better than I know myself,  _ Mikasa thought as she tried to fix her ruffled hair. It had been over two hours, and Mikasa was STILL looking for the perfect one. The pile of rejects that covered the floor told her it would be a long time before she found it. 

“I’m getting worn out Krista could we take a break?”

“And take away valuable time from finding you the perfect suit to make Annie swoon? I think not!”

Mikasa blushed. “That’s not the reason I-”

The door flew open without a knock, and Krista marched and shut the door behind her. Mikasa scrambled to cover her naked torso.

“Krista! Knock first!”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry,” the small girl turned around and began to speak fast. “I know you’re getting burnt out, but look, I think we’ve found ourselves a keeper!” 

She turned around, and Mikasa’s breath caught in her throat. It was black, like the majority of the suits Krista had made her try on. But there was something about the fine cut and sleek fit that Mikasa couldn’t take her eyes from. She needed to try it on.

“Last one,” she murmured, carefully slipping off her pants.

“Kyaa, Mikasa!” Krista whipped around. “What are you doing?”

“Says the one who barged into MY dressing room without knocking.”

As soon as brunette slowly let the fabric slide over her skin, she was immediately in love with it. Everything about it, the size, the shape, the color was to die for. Krista had done her job well. 

“You’re right,” Mikasa grinned, doing a three-sixty in the full length mirror to admire herself. “This is the one.”

“Oh thank GOD,” Krista playfully mocked. “We’ve been here all day!”

“You sure I can’t try on  _ one _ more?” Mikasa joked back. It hadn’t really sunk in, but prom was only a few nights away. She had avoided going shopping for her outfit, just because she hated it but after wearing her tux for the first time, Mikasa was finally getting into the spirit. Until she looked at the pricetag. Eight hundred and thirty three dollars? For an outfit for one night? She didn’t think so! “I can’t buy this,” MIkasa said immediately beginning to undo the satin buttons. “I’ll be in debt for a year!”

“Don’t WORRY so much Mikasa,” Krista chirped. 

“Krista do you know how much this costs?”

The blonde girl skipped over, and took a quick peek at the tag.

“Uh, eight hundred thirty three. No problem!”

“I only have seventy five!”

“Like I said Ackerman,” Krista rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. Annie said she’d take care of it.”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. She’d sworn no one would ever take advantage of Annie again. And here they were, looking at near one thousand dollar pieces of clothing on her tab! “We can’t do that to her Krista.”

The blonde girl sighed, and turned to her. “Look Mikasa. Annie told me not to tell you for a reason because she knew you’d say that. I didn’t want her to do it either but, she said she’d never gone to prom before, and wanted to make the night incredibly special.”

“And it still can be special, even without fancy clothes,” she pointed out.

Krista just sighed. “Look Mikasa. Annie wants this night to be  _ perfect _ . She said it herself; her family’s loaded. And this our last chance to go to prom as high schoolers ever ok? So don’t be a killjoy?”

Mikasa shut her eyes, and tried to recall every single prom she’d ever experienced throughout her high school. Freshman, sophomore, and Junior year had all consisted of the same thing. She, Ymir, Krista, Eren, Levi, and Armin would all get together and skip prom, opting to go hang out and go for a movie instead. But this year...would be. There would no longer be another chance for Mikasa to make these kinds of memories with the people she held closest to her. 

“Ok,” she let out a weak smile. “Just don’t let me see the receipt.” 

Krista winked. “You betcha. Now hurry up so we can check on the girls.”

By ‘girls’ Krista meant Annie and Ymir. The four had all gone shopping together, and while Krista and Mikasa decided to wear suits, Ymir and Annie would be wearing dresses. Needless to say, they were reluctant about it. 

Mikasa smiled as she slipped out of the suit, and recalled last night’s conversation on the phone with Annie.

_ “You want  _ me  _ to wear the dress?”  _ Annie had exclaimed.  _ “No way. Leonhardt’s dont wear dresses.”  _

_ “Come on, please?” _

_ “No.” _

_ “I’ll do whatever you want.” _

_ “Still no.” _

_ “If you do, I’ll show you something you’ve never seen before,” MIkasa offered. There was silence on the other end of the phone. _

_ “Please tell me you’re not talking about-” _

_ “God no! I’m not that gross,” she huffed. “But if you want to then…” _

_ “Stop! Ok ok, I’ll wear a dress. But you promised, remember that.” _

_ “Ok.” _

_ “Fine.” _

_ “Fine.”  _

And that’s where it left off. Mikasa had a plan for what the surprise was, and she knew it would catch Annie off guard. The brunette was getting anxious for the night to happen, sudden enthusiasm hitting her. Krista was right - shopping really did change a person’s world. 

The two walked around the corner, to the second woman’s dressing room on the other side. 

“Ymir! Annie! The boys are back!” Krista said cheerily. There was a grunt from behind the far left door. 

“Don’t ever say that again,” Came Ymir’s snarky reply. “All this fabric and frills its...its enough to make me sick.”

“Yeah yeah. Let me see you babe.”

The door opened slowly, and Ymir sheepishly slid out from the dressing room. Mikasa almost laughed. She never thought she’d see the day when Ymir wore a dress, nonetheless a sleeveless wine-red gown with glitter on the top that fell to the ground. Her tall figure fit the dress perfectly even without heels, and the color matched her hair and eyes perfectly. In short, the crude, brash girl was gone and replaced with an elegant goddess. If it weren’t for the scowl on her face. 

“Well? Stop gawking and say something already.”

A sniff came from the girl standing next to her, and Mikasa flipped around in bewilderment 

“You look like a princess,” Krista sobbed, and ran to her girlfriend. “Oh Ymir, you look amazing!”

“Now now Krista.” Ymir smirked. “We all know there’s can only be one princess here, and that’s you.”

“Dear god, you guys make me sick” Mikasa fake gagged, which earned her a scowl from Ymir. It wasn’t long before they were all chuckling hysterically. 

“Oh yeah, Annie we haven’t seen your dress yet,” Krista said suddenly, detangling herself from Ymir’s arms. “Don’t be shy!”

“I’m not shy but...augh” came a frustrated reply from the dressing room. “Something is stuck I can’t get the stupid clasp to shut.”

“I’ll do it,” Mikasa offered but Krista pushed past her.

“Uh uh Mikasa,” she waved her finger at her. “You have to the be last person to see her.”

With that, Krista disappeared into the dressing room and shut the door behind her, leaving Mikasa and Ymir hanging. There was a rumble of voices from behind the doors, until it was quiet. Krista quickly peeked her head out from behind the door. “Ok. You ready to see the dress?”

Mikasa swallowed, her hands suddenly clammy. “Yeah.”

Krista turned around, and yanked on Annie’s hand, thrusting her forward until she was completely out of the dressing room.

“Tadah!” 

“K-Krista…” Annie had her hands over chest and was blushing like crazy. Mikasa’s heart was pounding too, for the sight before her was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Annie’s dress had short sleeves, delicately placed on her shoulders. The top plunged down, but not too low, just enough to show off her collarbone and the top of her chest. The skirt of the dress fanned out majestically, and was floor length with a slit on the side, revealing just the right amount of skin. But what was most breathtaking was the color. It was a stunning shade of blue, that shimmered from dark to light depending on the wearer’s movements. Mikasa immediately recognized it as the color that matched with Annie’s eyes. Her girlfriend knew how much she loved that. 

“It’s perfect” Mikasa breathed, slowly trying to find the right words to say. Nothing could describe the beauty that was in front of her. She slowly walked towards Annie, who still was avoiding her eyes. “You’re so, incredibly beautiful, Anne” she whispered in her girlfriend's ear, before pulling her into a tight hug. 

“And you were complaining about US being too sweet” Ymir grumbled, before coughing as Krista elbowed her in the ribs.

“Be quiet Ymir!” she squeaked. “This is like watching a drama, where the couple destined for one another is finally together and they-”

Mikasa was no longer listening to her friends, as they become nothing but soft background noise. All that mattered to her right then was the most precious thing that she held in her arms. The girl she loved more than anything. 

“You still owe me that thing you promised,” Annie said softly so that Ymir and Krista couldn’t hear. Mikasa felt herself smile. 

“Yeah yeah. I’d never break our promise.” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> So I read past comments about this piece, and from what I understood, the biggest concern everyone had was when everything would just come clean, so the characters could move on. So here it is; the truth. Of course, this isn't completely over, just because we've moved on to more lighthearted things, but I wanted to brighten this up.  
> Which brings me to a turning point.   
> Now that Eren knows what's behind Annie's actions, what happens next? Will he be able to Trust Annie ever again?
> 
> Also, the Free! reference. I know I know, it's really cheesy but it just fit and I had to use it. It fits in with the next chapter so well ( yes, there WILL be a next chapter :) 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy where this was going, and as always please leave comments/suggestions I want to know you all think! 
> 
> \- Solar02
> 
> P.S - I was thinking to add more MikAnnie fluff/smut after all, this is rated M and has been one hell of an angsty ride. Just a heads up.


End file.
